I wonder what Ms. Reese has to say about why other minorities are not considered. Maybe I'll attend one of these meetings...

Bethany, I woud love it if you would come to USEA, and I appreciate the honesty of your column. Only with honesty and dicussion can we get anywhere with these issues. To answer your question: The MSA program is about encouraging a culturally tolerant, sensative, and even celebratory enviornment at Uni and that isnt a goal that applys to few or many but all students at Uni. It is my job to make sure that you, or any other student, Black, White, Red, Brown, etc. feels comfortable with their race/ethnicity and its role in their lives at Uni. The Students here should be respected as more than just students, but as people as well, with unique racial/ethnic backgrounds and experiences that should not be left at the door. The confusion about exclusion is because of our "target group" of students that is comprised of the students who have been historically and nationally underrepresented in places of higher education. The only attention those students get is with regards to recruitment and retention, the logic being that not all ethnicities/races have trouble existing in the academic sphere and so do not need as much of our attention on educational issues. The enviornment of the school, however, effects all, and so everyones opinions, needs, and perspectives are part of my work.

This is a question for Liz: You say above that it is your job to make sure that students of all ethnicities feel comfortable with their race at Uni. I understand that the MSAs are targetting students of certain ethnicities and, as long as you make that clear in the name of the group (instead of it being a broad name that makes me feel like I should be there too), that's fine. But I take issue with your assertion that you're helping to make sure all Uni students feel accepted. The MSAs are open to three groups, and three groups only. Other students didn't even know about the group before. Notes were put on people's lockers to invite them to the group. It was not an open place where anyone who felt like a minority could come and talk about their feelings. I understand if the goal of the MSAs is to target racial minorities who are under-represented at Uni. However, I do not think you can say that you are helping other people, for example, me, through the MSAs. Maybe though USEA, which is a new club, but not through the MSA progam. I also would like to say that, in order to deal with racial issues in today's society, people of all ethnicities have to be able to talk about them openly. If your group is talking about the issues that those target races are dealing with, but you don't invite, or even allow other students to participate, then you are, in a way, maintaining the same barriers that we should be crossing. The idea of a racial support group is, in theory, a good one. But if it is not open to anyone in need, it will divide people, especially at Uni, when the population is already so small.

Liz, I understand that USEA is for all students at Uni. My question had nothing to do with USEA. It had to do with the MSA program, because you stated in your comment to Bethany that: "The MSA program is about encouraging a culturally tolerant, sensative, and even celebratory enviornment at Uni and that isnt a goal that applys to few or many but all students at Uni. It is my job to make sure that you, or any other student, Black, White, Red, Brown, etc. feels comfortable with their race/ethnicity and its role in their lives at Uni." I don't agree. The MSAs have a target group. That is fine. However, you never made clear when people first found out about the MSAs that it is focusing on recruitment and retention. Originally, no one at Uni besides the students invited were aware of the MSA program. How is that helpful to our student body? Having a group, essentially one that was meant to be kept under wraps, that deals with racial issues is not helpful to the sense of community within our school. My experience at Uni has been that it is an open atmosphere, and for the most part, students have open minds. We are a tight-knit community, and I like that about Uni. Of course, I won't be here next year or subsequent years to see if Uni stays that way, but my hope is that it retains its sense of familiarity. Therefore, I think that the idea of having a group that targets minorities would be, in theory, a great idea, to provide support, etc. However, the fact of the matter is that you are excluding a large portion of the student body from even coming to learn about the problems that these three target groups are facing. How would you like to change the system? By working all by yourself? By not letting other races enter the picture because they "wouldn't understand"? Make us understand. Or at least try. I know I am willing to hear what you have to say. The MSAs actually accentuate race at Uni more than necessary, in my opinion. Before this year, I hardly ever thought of myself as "Indian" in a Uni sphere. Well actually, I thought of myself as Indian culturally, but the racial aspect didn't come into play much. Does that mean that I am not proud of my culture or race? No. It just means that, at Uni, generally race does not play a huge role in everyday school life. Now, diversity has become a hot topic and race is a huge issue. And I think that at Uni, it shouldn't be. Race should not be an identifier. Everyone should be able to identify themselves as something other than white, black, red, brown, blue, etc. Shouldn't our society, or at least Uni, be trying to move towards a time when people stop looking at race? It won't happen today, it won't happen tomorrow. But if we, as a society work, at it, I think we can get there. However, I feel that by creating a program open only by invitations that are based on race, we are taking a step back. You tell me that you would like to help me, get to know my heritage, and make it welcome in the halls of Uni. But, at the same time, the MSAs have said numerous times that the reason other groups weren't invited before was that they could not understand from a personal standpoint the troubles that the three groups have gone through. So how can you help me? Forming USEA for all students to participate is a good thing. Maybe I will come to check it out. But I still do not think that you can say that, as an MSA, you are watching out for every student's needs.