Yes, I’m White and I Live in Diaspora House

Late last semester, a friend let me know of an opening in her room.  After a semester of being allergic (yes, literally allergic) to my dorm at the time, I jumped at the opportunity.  What complicated matters a bit more, though, was that the room was in Diaspora House.  

When I tell people I live in D-House, they tend to be a bit shocked.  “I know, the super-pale blonde girl living in Diaspora House, it’s logical.”  All kidding aside, people generally seem more concerned with how I feel about living in the house than how doing so might be affecting me.  To be honest, it’s been an eye-opening experience.  

Image via gettysburg.edu

Despite living in the house, I’m not actively involved in the Black Student Union, Intercultural Resource Center, or other relevant campus groups.  Really, I’m just involved in too much otherwise. I’m not on the house’s alias and I don’t know most of my housemates very well.  That doesn’t make them any less important than my other peers.  

If absolutely nothing else, I go to Gettysburg College.  Its inherent history of race discussions aside, the College is deep in a modern-day debate on how to handle the campus climate, most notably, perhaps, in regards to race.  We aren’t always seen as the most inclusive SLAC.  

I coincidentally moved in just as we really started our discussions on campus.  As the recent town hall meeting revealed, we are far from where we need to be. Somehow, though, with less than 30% of the student body responding to the subsequent Campus Climate Survey, people just aren’t taking action.  Despite attempts by the school and both positive and negative response from various student groups (check out some recent Gettysburgian coverage if you need to catch up!), the change we ultimately need remains distant.  

But guess what:  I’ll stand with my housemates and anyone else who’s being treated poorly for whatever illogical reason.  As a woman, I can relate to objectification and inherent stereotypes;  as a human, I can recognize that people shouldn’t be treated like anything less, least of all for an important aspect of their identity.  

So, yes, I live in D-House, and I’m perfectly happy with that.  I choose to smile at my housemates when we meet in the common room and hold the door for them when we reach it simultaneously.  I’ll treat my fellow human beings with the respect that should never have been a question.  Now, it’s a matter of the rest of the world catching up.  

• diversity
• inclusion
• race