Wednesday, October 11, 2017 // The Statement
4B
Wednesday, October 11, 2017 // The Statement 
5B

On Edge

Students of color combat campus apathy

b y M i C E d i t o r s : Adam Brodnax, Tanya Madhani, Halimat Olaniyan, 

Christian Paneda, Jason Rowland, Ashley Tjhung and Sivanthy Vasanthan
L

SA sophomore Tyrice Grice 
Jr. was eager to kick off foot-
ball season at the Big House, 
ready to get started on his 

classes and to meet up with his friends 
after a summer spent apart. Like any 
other student at the University of Mich-
igan, Grice was looking forward to his 
fall semester. What he didn’t expect was 
to wake up on the second Sunday of the 
school year with a racial slur written on 

his and his roommates’ dorm room door.

Grice’s experience was one in a series 

of hateful acts committed against Black 
students on campus this year. A few 
weeks after Tyrice’s dorm room nam-
etag was vandalized, flyers advocating 
to “Make America White Again” were 
found near Stockwell Residence Hall 
and videos circulated of individuals 
defiling the #BlackLivesMatter slogans 
chalked on the Diag — all a part of the 

emerging large-scale backlash against 
students protesting for racial equality. 
Additionally, discontent rose from the 
University’s lack of official response to 
these incidents — from not finding the 
perpetrators to the consistently low lev-
els of minority enrollment.

The editors of Michigan in Color 

responded to the palpable racial ten-
sion created by the racist incidents over 
the past month through reporting the 
unique stories of Grice, LSA freshman 
Cydney Gardner-Brown and LSA fresh-
man Amen Al-Moamen. While three 
voices cannot fully capture the feelings 
of all students of color on this campus 
and across the University system, their 
testimonies are nonetheless important. 
These three wanted to be heard — not 
only to show support for those strug-
gling, but also to provide insight for stu-
dents unaffected by these heinous acts.

***
“As a former student, I can see that 

students are confused, uncertain, hos-
tile and … overwhelmed and tired,” 
Fiana said.

To her, the racial tension on campus 

is unmistakable, and she was far from 
alone in her assessment.

“I was surprised that this would hap-

pen in the first three weeks,” Gard-
ner-Brown said. “We didn’t even get a 
chance to (un)pack our bags, and we are 
already being attacked. But at the same 
time, why would I be surprised?”

Gardner-Brown had barely settled 

into college life when she was forced to 
confront the unpleasant reality of life on 
this campus as a Black student. For her, 
the tense racial climate that dominated 
her first month at school allowed her to 
connect with her Black peers. But this 
came at the expense of feeling isolated 
from the greater campus community.

All those interviewed emphasized the 

uneasy atmosphere in the classroom, 
in residence halls and even the library. 
What was surprising, however, were 
reports of a campus climate that ebbed 
and flowed between heightened tension 
and relative calm. To many students, 
these seemingly random spikes are per-

haps more damaging to their day-to-day 
lives than a campus that’s constantly on 
edge.

In the past, moments of tension on 

campus have led to increased activism 
and awareness. But when things calm 
down, these movements struggle to be 
heard — a fact most damaging to stu-
dents of color.

“I feel comfortable, but then sud-

denly the campus reminds us that we 
shouldn’t ever be complacent or com-
fortable,” Gardner-Brown said.

Grice echoed this sentiment, empha-

sizing his concern for movements of 
racial equality.

“We don’t want (these movements) to 

back down. We don’t want #BBUM to go 
down.”

In times of heightened racial ten-

sion, these issues are often addressed 
head-on. When these topics leave the 
forefront of our minds, they tend to be 
ignored. His solution: “Fight until we 
know we are secure on this campus.”

Students of color feel the administra-

tion is not providing them with adequate 
support during this turbulent time. Last 
year, Students4Justice sent out a list of 
demands directed at the University’s 
administration, including harsher pen-
alties for oppressive hate speech, a pro-
cess for changing the names of buildings 
named after controversial figures and 
an increase in Black enrollment. These 
demands largely have not come to frui-
tion. Recently, students protested the 
University’s continued lack of progress 
in an effort to rename a building named 
after C.C. Little, a known eugenicist and 
former president of the University. In 
addition, undergraduate Black enroll-
ment is currently under five percent. 

Though Gardner-Brown acknowledg-

es non-Black students are supportive, 
she does not feel content, citing she feels 
a prevalent sense of complacency among 
non-Black students.

“They can walk away and feel like 

nothing is happening,” she said. “The 
community is left to fend for themselves. 
No one else feels attacked. No one else 
feels like it’s their community too.”

Grice also sees a similar trend of 

detachment and responsibility when it 
comes to allyship.

“The campus doesn’t invoke action on 

their own, and they need to be proactive 
in reaching out to me. There is nothing 
here to get done,” he said. “I don’t see any 
white student leaders standing up with 
us. We need leaders to provoke other stu-
dents to build that community.”

To bring sustainable change in the face 

of racism on campus, students want a 
multipronged approach: one that calls for 
a willing administration to listen to the 
pain of students and faculty of color, not 
one that puts this work on the shoulders 
of an individual, marginalized group.

***
Each of the students who spoke 

stressed the need for the administra-
tion to take concrete, tangible actions to 
openly denounce acts of hate and racism 
and support students of color.

“[There is] a big mistrust between 

these communities and the administra-
tion,” Al-Moamen said, explaining that 
this issue is a direct consequence of 
administration inaction.

Grice highlighted the lack of people of 

color, particularly Black people, within 
the administration and Ann Arbor’s local 
government.

“Since it’s primarily white advisers 

who are the ones in power, we need to 
find a way to convince them to help us 
and to speak out on issues.”

There is an urgent need for change at 

both local and community levels. Gard-
ner-Brown pointed out three urgent 
advancements: the need for more safe 
spaces, the need for increased Black stu-

dent enrollment and the 
need for consequences for 
acts of hate and racism. 
She believes these devel-
opments are necessary for 
sustainable and long term 
change on campus.

“It’s about increasing 

diversity in the campus. 
Not something that can 
change within a school 
year. It’s something to 
be incorporated for the 
future.”

From us to you:
College campuses and 

communities across the 
country are grappling with 
debates 
over 
diversity, 

equity, inclusion and safe-
ty. While the past month’s 
incidents have created a 
very specific climate on 
the University’s campus, 
it’s important to remem-
ber that we do not exist in 
a bubble. If an issue affects 
students at the University, 
chances are it also affects 
students 
at 
universities 

across the nation.

All three students noted 

that though racism is not 
strictly a problem in Ann 
Arbor, it is still the job of 
the University to address it 
on campus.

“There’s no sense of comfort,” Al-Moa-

men said. “To enjoy and excel in college, 
you need a sense of comfort without para-
noia. You need to feel comfortable here. 

This is a nationwide problem. Whether 
in college or not, you have to be able to 
feel free to walk down the street and feel 
comfortable.” 

While the Univer-

sity may not be able 
to solve structural 
racism by itself, the 
three believe it is the 
University’s job to 
protect and support 
students of color on 
campus.

Life at the Uni-

versity has always 
been a balancing act. 
Students juggle the 
pressures of school-
work, jobs and their 
social lives. For stu-
dents of color, tense 
climates on campus 
add yet another level 
of stress to their 
daily lives.

Yet, despite the 

hate crimes Black 
students experience, 
they are expected 
to 
push 
through. 

They are expected 
to 
do 
better 
and 

rise above. They are 
expected to believe 
that somehow these 
incidents will work 

themselves out and that tomorrow every-
thing will be better. For many Black stu-
dents, that’s simply not the case.

Black students are left wondering if they 

will ever feel at home. Along with their 
allies, they’re left challenging the Univer-
sity’s administration to enact change.

As for what’s next, only time will tell. 

These blatant acts of racism and threats 
to the emotional and physical well-being 
of students of color at the University must 
stop. As “the Leaders and the Best” we 
should be better than this. We are better 
than this.

Michigan in Color stands in solidarity 

with the Black students, and all students 
of color, affected. We are here for you, and 
we will be your mic.

***
Mission Statement: Michigan in Color 

is a designated space for and by people of 
color at the University of Michigan, where 
they are encouraged to voice their opinions 
and reconcile their perspectives and lived 
experiences that may be overshadowed by 
dominant narratives on campus.

Michigan in Color is a writing initiative 

meant to foster a more elevated discussion 
on campus about the role that race and eth-
nicity (intersecting with our other identities 
including socioeconomic status, sexual ori-
entation, religious identification, nation of 
origin, ability status, etc.) shape our social 
interactions and lived experiences at the 
University and beyond.
ALEXIS RANKIN/DAILY

Amen Al-Moamen

ALEXIS RANKIN/DAILY

Tyrice Grice Jr. 

ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily

Cydney Gardner-Brown