Queen’s University, guess what? YOU’RE RACIST.
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I wonder if anyone has ever said those words to the Queen’s University Administration? I hope so, because it’s been a bad year to be a student of colour at Queen’s. From the professors at the Bader International Study Centre making poorly judged comments on immigrants, to the whitewashing of Othello, to just the general day to day living experiences of being a student of colour on a racist campus, it’s been rough.
But I think the party with the racist costumes, cultural appropriation, and general mockery of anyone who wasn’t white is the straw that broke my back.
I’m so unbelievably tired of feeling like I am worth nothing to my school. I am so tired of writing about it and talking about it and trying to educate people around me. I’m tired and so this feels like my swan song, because after this… I need a break.
But I can’t say that I’m taking a break without saying some things first:
To the Queen’s University Administration:
Be better. It is as simple as that.
Place value on the lives and identities of your students who are worth so much more than you seem to think. Constantly and consistently speak out against oppression on campus. Constantly and consistently advocate for your marginalized students. Use your privilege as the administrative bodies on campus to affect change that is so desperately needed.
Create an environment where it is obvious that these things are unacceptable. Because right now, we’re living on a campus where it’s still okay to hold a “countries” party and dress up in rice hats and monk robes.
Do not distance yourself from these issues — you may not endorse them, but these students are yours. They represent you and what you have taught them. If this is a school that has an “international reputation for scholarship, social purpose, and spirit,” speak out when your students don’t represent the values you adhere to.
Be better, because the honest truth is that you do not deserve students who are kind, and smart, and hardworking, if this is what they get in return for choosing to exist in this space.
And if that’s not enough incentive, know that we are now being called out on a national scale for being racist. If students feeling completely and totally invalidated isn’t enough, at least worry about the school being mentioned in national media coverage.
To my fellow students of colour:
You are loved, and you are valued. If this school doesn’t make you feel like that, know that there are people like me who hear you and grieve for you and who want you to be the very best that you can be. We hear you. If you choose to leave, we understand. And if you choose to stay, we support you.
Take care of yourselves. It is okay to not be okay; it is okay to want a break. Reach out to your support system and hold close to your heart the knowledge that you matter to so many more people than you know. You deserve better, and one day it will come.
To my students of colour who think this isn’t a problem:
I will never wish these experiences on you, but please don’t dismiss the people who do go through these experiences. Your feelings and experiences are valid. So are theirs. Please respect that.
To the white students at Queen’s:
This is your time to speak out. Stand in solidarity with students of colour. Speak in places they cannot speak. Turn to your community and tell them to be better. Tell them to learn, to grow, and evaluate their words and their actions. This is the time for you to be angry and to do something with that anger.
Call and email the Principal, the Provost, the Rector, the AMS executives, and more; be vocal in your condemnation of racist and oppressive actions on this campus.
Fight for us, because we are tired.