I think that UW-Madison is a very racially welcoming environment. It seems that everywhere I look there is a program designed to promote racial acceptance and equality. I'm biracial; my dad's from India and my mom's from Michigan. Whether or not I'm multicultural, minority or disadvantaged fluctuates depending on who you ask.
Living in Madison, I have never been more aware of my own racial background and the possible racial backgrounds of the people I meet.
The first thing I noticed when I moved into my dorm room this summer was that there was a card on my door from a Multicultural Resident Consultant. My roommate, who is white, did not get one. At the time, it startled me.
I appreciated the effort of the university and of the consultant to welcome me. Later in the semester, I met one of the MRCs, and he made me feel that my well-being was important. No one else had taken the time to find out how I was adjusting, and had I been having trouble, his visit would have helped me more. Nonetheless, the gesture immediately made me feel different from the other people on my floor.
Suddenly a division was created that I had never really thought about before. I know there are other students who only felt comfortable and grateful knowing that there was someone who would help them if they needed it. I felt that way too, but at the same time I noticed that my racial background had an impact on how I was treated.
The lesson I learned from that experience, and the lesson I am learning from living here is that programs which have racial elements may be necessary, but that we have to be aware of how they impact the way we see ourselves and other people.
I constantly see signs that advertise multicultural events, or events for specific racial groups. After I see them, I see people on the street, and sometimes, without really realizing it, I notice what race they are. Suddenly everyone is a member of a certain category or group; they aren't just people on the street anymore.
Discrimination is a very important problem, and we all have to be aware of it and work to eradicate it, but along the way, we have to make sure that we don't turn people into labels. Gearing certain organizations at certain groups of people may be necessary now to combat existing discrimination, but we have to remember that the ideal we are working toward is a society where race isn't the first or second thing we notice about people. I hope to one day live in an environment where there is enough tolerance and understanding that we can give all people exactly the same opportunities and make decisions based solely upon merit without having to consider racial differences.
I know that we don't live in such a society now. We need to take extra steps to ensure that people of all races are comfortable and treated equally, but while we're doing that, we have to be aware of how those methods can change our perceptions of people. Labeling people, no matter what our intentions are, is still labeling. Sometimes I feel like I am biracial, nonwhite, or multicultural before I am a person and a student at UW-Madison.
We can't allow race to define too much of who we are or how we act, or else we will see more of our differences and less of our similarities. In the end, we are all members of this community, and that's more important than what color we are.
