We have come a long way in America. If you were to ask the majority of Americans if inequality or discrimination still exists most would be quick to say that neither do and that those who think either does are just simply too sensitive and take things too seriously. I would love to agree with this and say that discrimination or any form of inequality does not exist, that would be a perfect world. But unfortunately we don’t live a world like that. We may have made a lot of progress in the past 40 to 50 years, but not enough progress.
I came to college with this crazy notion that everyone would be accepted and appreciated for who they were, and not have to worry about ever being discriminated against. I was wrong. N.C . State’s student body continues to shine a light on the fact that the world is still a hateful place that does not accept difference. College is supposed to open up students’ mind and show them a new world of things that they may not have come across while living in their small town where everyone looked and acted the same.
I understand that N.C . State does not control the students who attend events on campus that relate to diversity or talks about accepting people who are different than you. But something needs to be done because nearly 52 percent of N.C . State students do not attend any form of diverse programs that are held on campus. That is a lot of students who continue to live in a world not understanding or willing to accept diverse cultures or different people. However, I personally am not shocked by this number. I know that there are people like me who attend N.C . State who want to learn more about the world around them and have an open mind to new things. But when I decided to attend N.C . State, I also knew that it would not be the most open minded place in the world.
Being that is now my third semester here at N.C . State I have seen a lot of wonderful things that I feel bring our school together, just a few weeks ago I, along with several other N.C . States students, wore an “I love Diversity” t-shirt that represented the GLBT community here at State and showed that we accept all types of people. But then not even two weeks later the GLBT office and meeting space was vandalized with harsh and demeaning words by N.C . States students. To me and a large number of students here this vandalizing did not sit well.
How do we go from one week of showing our love and acceptance towards a group of people to writing words the very next week that show so much hate? It is hard to wrap my mind around the fact that things like this could actually be happening right here on our very campus. What kind of message are we sending to colleges and universities around us? This has been the second major form of discrimination and hate that I have witness while being a student here at N.C . State and it does not make any sense why students here continue to demonstrate such ignorance and intolerance of other groups of people on this campus.
Though I have obviously only attended one college thus far, I feel as though N.C . State seems to be having the most problems when it comes to facing diversity and accepting other groups of people. I know very well that hate and racism still exist, but college is one place where we are supposed to come together and build a better generation and show the world that we love one another and accept those who are different.
