In Thursday’s issue of The Daily Campus, the paper presented both sides of the argument concerning the special interests seats. As a student that would be affected by the decision, I read both sides of the issue, taking into account the point of view of both authors. However, I feel that both writers are not in a position where they can empathize with minority students and the situations they face at Southern Methodist University.
Imagine, if you would, coming into an environment where you are the minority. Not only is the environment new to you and thus foreign, no one makes a particular effort to cater to you or your needs.
This is often the feeling of Hispanic, Asian American and African American students coming into SMU. The university has a reputation that precedes it for being very exclusive in its viewpoints, mainly its conservative, upper-middle class, Caucasian viewpoint. Just looking at events on campus, which are designed with the students in mind, one can see to whom the school caters.
Candace Bushnell was invited to speak, and, while she is a best-selling author with a smash hit show based on her book, at the same time one must ask why not someone else? Why not someone such as Terry McMillan, also a best-selling author who has had a movie based on her book “Waiting to Exhale,” a movie that is considered a classic to many African-American women, just as “Sex and the City” is to Caucasian women.
Or, Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, who has written “Playing with Boys” and “The Dirty Girls Social Club,” both of which are excellent books that cater to issues facing Latino women. The university also brings political figures to school such as Colin Powell, who was the right-hand man to George W. Bush. But, why not bring Barack Obama, the Democratic senator from Illinois, who is poised to become a leading figure in U.S. politics and is also the author of a best-selling novel?
Considering the majority and their apathetic and sometimes ignorant attitude toward the minority, as nicely summed up by “The Princeton Review,” leaving the special interests seats is a gift that is sorely needed. One may ask that if SMU is so “unaccommodating,” why do minorities continue to come here?
I can only answer for myself, but I am quite sure others will understand. Although some may deny, everyone knows that this is a country governed primarily by those who don’t look or live like the majority of the country, not even considering race. In order to make a living above and beyond the standard, you must be adept at playing “the game.”
There isn’t a definite set of rules, but rules definitely exist. I chose SMU because it was a new experience, away from home but close enough that I could go back if I pleased. I had my first encounter with the “the game” at this school, and, although I contemplated backing off and going back to my comfort zone, I stayed because my pride wouldn’t let me leave.
Those who recognize the game understand the importance of having someone on your side. The special interests seats are somewhat like minorities’ ambassadors to the game. They represent our stake and our issues in a way that we as individuals outside of the game cannot. It’s not affirmative action as Reed Hanson has stated. And he is right; who is to say all minorities will have the same interests? There are so many issues facing minorities that if they were not routed through one individual they would not be handled. Just as in his opinion, this is “preferential treatment” and minorities on campus “quite often enjoy an elevated status.” This kind of belief without proof is what keeps the student body divided; instead of actually talking to students to find what they feel, he chose to assume and we all know what that does!
His challenge would be greatly taken up by me and any person who has experienced that, which he obviously cannot feel or experience because he has never been in the place to do so. That apathetic and ignorant attitude, the complete disregard for other people’s experience, is what causes the division within the student body. That is the reason for our ambassador. I’m not sure if Hanson has, but I challenge him to take five minutes out of his day to come by the Multicultural Student Affairs office and talk to the students. How sad that he probably will not, just as most students at the school are content to live inside their self-created bubble of sameness and solidarity, as uninformed as ever.
Veleisa Patton is a junior CCPA and spanish major. She may be contacted at [email protected].
