The Hard Reality of Being #BlackOnCampus

Posted on by Christina Allison

Soon after taking my first sociology course as a freshman, I learned that I was more than just a college student.  In fact, I’m an African-American female who sits at the cross section of what is often identified as intersectionality. My overlapping social identities, each one being apart of an oppressed group, is what classifies me as such.

With a better understanding of myself, I was able to then observe my placement using defining factors such as my race, class, gender and age as it relates to a college environment, Syracuse University, in particular. Quickly, it became evident, that I belonged to a community multicultural students who were viewed differently than my white peers.  Although the unfair treatment often derived from one’s lack of knowledge about how certain mannerisms and statements are offensive, incidents occurred all too often.

Fast forward to now, 2015, a time when race is still an issue not only myself but many individuals are forced to face on a daily basis. With the recent protests and unfortunate events at the University of Missouri, the hashtag #BlackOnCampus was created. This hashtag has sparked those participating in protests among college campuses nationwide to speak up about how they are still apart of a misrepresented group and equality needs to be instilled sooner rather than later.

Known as a controversial topic, this Twitter hashtag has generated numerous tweets about how campuses need to become safe spaces and that change is occurring across the United States.

Unfortunately, not all individuals who engage with the hashtag are in support of the #BlackOnCampus movement.

It is not only disheartening but it’s upsetting to see that people such as the comment made on the tweet above are too blind to see the unfair treatment of black students in college.

To call the Black Lives Movement a form of “terrorism” is indeed a foolish and unfortunate stance. This White Student Union at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign clearly does not know nor has the compassion to realize the difficulties of being a person of color in this world.

It’s a shame to see individuals create meme’s and phrases with terms that they are blatantly unaware of the true meaning of. In reference to the image, an African-American individual can still be situated in a upper class socioeconomic state and still be systematically oppressed. As it pertains to white privilege, it is defined as the societal privileges someone who is white has over a non-white person. Yes, the individual in the image might have fought in war to help people however, it is his skin color which provides him with advantages a minority will never experience.

One thought on “The Hard Reality of Being #BlackOnCampus”

  1. Thank you for writing about a topic that is so important now. This hashtag is so much more than just a social media trend– it’s a real life experience that so many young college students are faced with on a daily basis. Thanks for bringing that to light.

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True life: I'm a social media addicted student facing the upsetting reality of being a college senior.