Views expressed in opinion columns are the author’s own.
The University of Maryland Counseling Center recently added a new group, originally named “White Awake,” for white students who want to better “fit into a diverse world.” The way this was originally marketed was extremely inappropriate, using language that suggested people of color were at fault for making white students uncomfortable. To its credit, the Counseling Center has since renamed it the “Anti-Racism and Ally Building Group,” and has changed the description to clarify that it’s intended to help students examine and unlearn their racist tendencies.
While the notion of white people needing a safe space is problematic on its own, this is still a somewhat valiant effort from this university to combat racism and hate on this campus. But that doesn’t mean it will actually be effective. The problem with this group is that it’s premised on the notion that all racist white students will recognize they’re racist — and will want to change that.
[Read more: UMD stands by “safe space” group for white students to discuss race, despite pushback]
For those who can recognize their faults, this group is great. These students have a safe space to admit they are embarrassed about their racist tendencies. With help from the group leader, they will hopefully be able to address where these tendencies originate. Maybe the group will touch upon systematic oppression, mass incarceration and colonialism, just to name a few of the many forces working against people of color. Ideally, these students will walk away at some point with a better understanding of their own biases and the tools to fight them.
However, this does not address white students who don’t believe or care they are racist. The students who hung the white supremacist posters found on campus last year, for example, would probably not seek out a group like White Awake. These students — the ones who are unapologetic about their oppressive beliefs — are the real driving force of hate on this campus. This group isn’t geared toward pushing these students to understand the minority perspective, which prevents it from putting a significant dent in campus racism.
[Read more: The Counseling Center should challenge white people’s racism, not create a “safe space” for them]
As a person of color, I don’t find accidental or misinformed racism to be the most disturbing, because it can be unlearned fairly easily. Asking me “Where are you really from?” as if I am any less American than you is offensive but correctable. Hopefully, the Counseling Center has methods of showing white students these microaggressions are inappropriate.
White supremacist attitudes, however, are not as easily corrected. Something like White Awake is not a wholesale solution to racism and other hate at this university. It only helps white students who actually want to be helped. For students who genuinely believe people of color are inferior, a class focusing on a minority perspective may be enlightening, but if it’s voluntary, they are unlikely to seek it out. For these students, White Awake is useless.
Liyanga de Silva is a junior English major. She can be reached at liyanga.a.ds@gmail.com.
