To the Editor:
On Wednesday October 13, 2010, at the Teach-In on Homophobia & Bullying, I was listening carefully in the audience to the compelling words of the members and allies of the LGBTQ community, Elizabeth Garcia, the Dean of Multicultural Affairs and Claudia Highbaugh, the Dean of Religious Life. The moment I walked into the 1941 Room, I asked myself a critical question: why am I not in the panel representing the student body as the Chair of Diversity & Equity (D&E)? Aren’t I the one who deals with all of these issues of minorities on campus? Isn’t this my job? Then, I realized that I can’t be the only face of diversity in this campus and that this task does not only involve my input or the input of the speakers, but our collective actions as members of this community.
Our own agreement to share governance says that we don’t need to have the title of Dean of Multicultural Affairs, or Chair of Spectrum or Chair of Diversity and Equity to stand up to the rest of our peers and fight for human rights. Heck, we’re only undergraduates once; let’s start doing something for the sake of our time.
I am not writing this message as the Chair of D&E, but rather as one of your peers. I am not writing this message because I have to, but rather because it’s what I want to personally share with you. I am not writing this message to say that I know how to solve these issues but to reach out to you to find the clues.
A simple reality that I am beginning to understand further is the segregation of this campus and perhaps, the world itself. However, it’s not a segregation of ethnicity, socio-economic background, color or sexual orientation. It’s a segregation of our similarities. As paradoxical as it might sound, it’s the human condition I am referring to: our thoughts, our judgments and our goals are the reasons that distance us from one another. We neglect that our similar traits as human beings can make us a strong bunch but we can be even stronger if we can connect through our diversity of reasons.
I firmly believe that the missing link to our own understanding lies within each individual. Today is a day to take seriously; it’s our chance to begin to figure ourselves out, to put our own reasons in question and to find what truly makes us human. Then, it’s up to you and me to define our time being alive.
– Pablo Tutillo ’13
