Bree Capel
bi001@marietta.edu
Marietta College students have generated dialogue on the topic of campus discrimination using Mike Brown’s August murder as a discussion point. Trying to form a comprehensive and diverse portrait of racially charged discrimination, a variety of students compared and contrasted their hometown and campus experiences.
Students found similarities between the socio-political climate of Ferguson and that of Marietta. Junior Darnell DePriest believes that Ferguson is deeply related to both his hometown and the Marietta community, explaining that the incident in Ferguson is an example of what can happen when minorities are added to communities with hegemonic governments. DePriest wanted readers to be aware of the colorism and racism that he is confronted with on a regular basis. He also emphasized a desire for campus-wide dialogue.
According to sophomore Hollie Young, “the Marietta community as a whole lacks a respect and appreciation for diversity… [Which stems] from fear and preconceived notions because of “othering” people who don’t look or act like the majority, which here would be middle class, heterosexual white Christians.”
The experience of being rejected by peers was common among the non-white students interviewed.
DePriest said, “I find solidarity with everyone on campus from the athlete to the petro major to the international [student]. I don’t try to close any avenues even though others do for close-minded reasons.” He added that connecting with people of different backgrounds is an essential element to life and a source of great knowledge.
Senior Dari Alshammari, an international student from Kuwait, agreed and said that American women on campus approach him, but he struggles with befriending American men. Alshammari went on to say that he does not understand why American men on campus do not speak to him, but that he hopes for change.
Additionally, DePriest stated that he was tired of being mistaken for a sports management major or simply as a football player. The English major said that most white students are shocked when they learn that he is involved in the humanities, multiple clubs, and football. Furthermore, Depriest said that he would not receive the same reaction if he were white and that he believes the community’s misperception of him is based on stereotypical images in the media.
“I just want to be known as Darnell, not something that people have seen in movies or on TV,” he said.
Freshman Tara Clinton expressed that she does not believe that there is enough diversity in the Marietta community for racially charged crime to occur. Nevertheless, Clinton said she has been subjected to stares and whispers from community members off campus.
“In town I feel occasional discrimination as a biracial person,” she said. “It was worse initially when I got here when I’d spend time with my interracial parents.”
Marietta’s homogeneousness is in stark contrast with Clinton’s hometown.
“I’m from a military community in Northern Italy, so my home is pretty diverse, and most people I [interacted with] with on a daily basis were biracial or multiracial or had grown up in that kind of community, so discrimination was very rare,” she said.
Concerning on-campus support systems, students have varying levels of satisfaction. Clinton expressed a need for more faculty support, as she has not yet met non-white professors. She continued in saying that, while they try, friends do not fully understand her situation because they do not share her unique background. On the other hand, Alshammari said that he is very satisfied with the level of support that he receives from Faculty members, especially those in the Office of Education Abroad.
Recent MC graduate and Spain transplant Emma Burger ’14 contributed her global perspective.
“[A]fter I moved into my apartment, my land lord specifically asked me if I would be okay if I shared the house with a black person,” she said. “I was like…well yes, duh.” Burger added, “People from Central and South America are viewed as second-class citizens.”
On August 9, 2014, 18-year-old Mike Brown was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson. Exact reasons for Wilson’s actions were unclear, but Ferguson community members named racial prejudice as his motivation.
“The response to the suspect was unnecessarily escalated due…absolutely to a cultural racism held by the majority of white America,” Burger said. “The idea that a large black man is more dangerous than a large white man is a prevailing thought in the United States. This is racism. Perhaps not “Jim Crow” racism, which was so plainly obvious, but still racism in how we perceive other people who look different from the majority.”
