First and foremost: BLACK LIVES MATTER.

In David Greene's latest email addressing the nationwide protests against the killing of George Floyd and systemic racism in America, he mentioned the creation of an “Inequality Lab” which would be a “multi-disciplinary approach to scholarship, teaching, learning, and community engagement.” Although the creation of an academic program focused on inequality is a good first step, we demand more. Thus far, there is no mandatory coursework that focuses on racial violence and discrimination in America. Our campus has been frequented by racist incidents on a semesterly basis, (see Akon day, carved swastikas on campus property, and white students shouting the n-word in residence halls to name a few) and it is evident we need a deep cultural shift on Colby’s campus.

We demand that all first-year students are required to attend a discussion-based Anti-Racism Seminar, similar in structure to the Sexual Violence Prevention Training, focused on encouraging conversation and correction. Education about oppression should not be the responsibility of the oppressed. It is not the responsibility of our Black peers to educate white people and non-Black POC about historical and modern-day racism. White people and non-Black POC should not sit out of conversations surrounding race due to a lack of education surrounding the matter. The seminar would not be a comprehensive account of the 400 years of oppression that has plagued Black Americans, but rather a space to create conversations informing students about issues such as police brutality, mass incarceration, white supremacy, and other forms of oppression that continue to persist in our society as well as the necessary methods of action to mitigate them.

The seminar would:

-       Take the form of peer-led lectures and conversations informing all incoming Colby students on racial inequity, different forms of privilege, and the mechanisms of oppression used today to ensure that the status quo is kept
-       Validate the emotions and experiences of our Black peers
-       Discuss how systemic racism perpetuates a society in which BIPOC are not valued the same as white bodies
-       Educate about microaggressions and other forms of covert racism
-       Review the history of racism at Colby, and talk about how racism manifests itself on our campus, and the role the administration has played in these events 
-       Facilitate activities that would encourage students to understand their privilege.
-       Inform students of mental health resources and safe spaces, especially for BIPOC (we also demand creating more resources for this on campus).
-       Introduce students to educational resources to continue the conversation beyond the classroom.

Colby must hire new educators trained to facilitate discussions regarding race and racism. These educators would train the peer-leaders to ensure the information in these seminars is properly and effectively shared. The curriculum and structure of the seminars should be created by these educators with input from students and Colby faculty. We want to stress the importance of student knowledge because as students, we often see first-hand the prevalence of racism on our campus. Additionally, we believe that the peer-leader role should be a paid position to ensure that these students get properly compensated for the emotionally taxing role.

Change never happens when people are comfortable. The Colby Administration must facilitate these mandatory uncomfortable conversations in order to equip our community with the tools to combat racism both within the Colby campus and beyond.