To the Editor:
The editorial in last week's Review prompted me to speak about an issue that has been troubling me all sesmester. Identity Politics is a major topic of debate at Oberlin; and many student groups on campus are based on the interests of self-identified oppressed minorities. The student diversity and active dialogue of racism and oppression were two factors that influenced me to transfer to Oberlin and pursue a major in Latin American Studies. Soon after arriving on campus, however, I got the sense that because I am white, I am inherently ignorant and racist. There does exist a community at Oberlin concerned about issues of oppression, yet only students who have been "victims of oppression" can participate.
This sense of exclusion began when I heard about the decision ny members of Third World House to reject several white students' application to live in the House, even after they had lived there an entire semester. Secondly, I was discouraged from joining La Alianza on the grounds that I am not of latino heritage. The most disturbing event, however, was my experience with a Latin dance exco. I signed up for the class after returning from doing a research project in the Dominican Republic over Winter Term, excited to practice merengue and bachata. More importantly, I wanted to share my experience and perspective with other students who had personal involvement and background in Latin American culture. I was initially accepeted into the class, but when the instructor decided to reduce the class size, my name was cut from the list. Confused, I went and asked him why I was turned down. He informed me that I didn't "need" to learn to dance the merengue as much as a person of latino heritage who had been robbed of the chance to learn his or her own cultural tradition. He went on to tell me that although he may have discriminated against me on the basis of my race, he insisted that this prejudice was justified given the history of oppression of latinos in the U.S.. There can be no reverse racism, he told me, by people who have no power.
The conversation left me hurt and even more confused. I felt that the instructor, who is an important leader and representative of all Oberlin students, looked at me on the basis of my being white, and assumed I was racist, priviledged and ignorant. I felt that he had denied the worth of my experience and connection with Latin American culture. Recently, I read an article about Oberlin's divisive identity politics based on ever-narrower conceptions of collective identity seems to have replaced every other kind of politics at Oberlin." The article goes on to say: "It is important to recognize how scholastic and self-serving the definition of racism that hold sway at Oberlin is: 'people of color' cannot be racist becausse they lack power. Because they do have power, white are intrinsically racist."
Ultimately, I think it is self-defeating and hypocritical to exclude people from a community whose goal is to end discrimination and oppression. I think that this goal is shared not just by students of color, but by almost all Oberlin students. The strength and richness of this dialogue would be greatly increased if it was opened up to the entire Oberlin community.
Copyright © 1997, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 125, Number 20, April 11, 1997
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