Why Berkeley Doesn't Need A White Student Union

By Aleida Moreno on November 25, 2015

source: LA Times (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com)

The most recent development that completely shattered my unrealistic expectations for this campus was the unofficial founding of the “UC Berkeley White Student Union.” I thought that going to college in a city that screams “liberal” was going to be a comforting experience, full of tolerance and respect; I imagined a bubble of tolerance, assuming that people who come to Berkeley know of the school’s reputation of being socially aware and welcoming.

I didn’t expect to experience microaggressions or to feel unsafe on a daily basis. The student group, which is not registered with the school and has unofficially been using the school seal and logo on their page, claims to be dedicated to “unapologetically providing a safe space for white students to air their true feelings” in light of the “challenges European-American students on college campuses face.”

Similar groups have made their way onto other campuses, including UCLA and NYU. Students have been rapidly expressing their concerns, going as far as asking on Facebook who allowed these white supremacist groups to form on campus.

The issue with having a white student union forming on campuses is that these institutions are already unsafe places for people of color. Adding student unions with goals that both divert attention from marginalized groups trying to make their voices heard on campus, and disturbingly echo white supremacist fears that White is becoming a minority, and that European Americans are somehow still oppressed only make the spaces more uncomfortable for students of color.

Concerns for the group include the fact that “Professors at American universities are paid to theorize about DESTROYING our people” (White Student Union at UC Berkeley Facebook page). This argument fails to recognize that students of color have had white discourse shoveled into their heads for as long as we have been given permission to attend these institutions.

After decades of learning about nothing but the “dead White males” the student union is so concerned about, it is only natural that students of color begin to demand learning about people whose writing and experiences we can connect with. What good does it do me, as a queer Latina women’s studies major, to know what these “dead White men” had to say about lived experience, the problems society faces, or even queerness if their experience and audience only involved other White people?

Demanding diversity in the discourse we learn is not always simply about discrediting a White Male Author for trying to universalize his own privileged existence, it’s about creating a space where the non-white, non-male, experience can be discussed.

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Discomfort on the part of white students as the voices of students of color grow louder is expected — not justified, but expected. Change is uncomfortable. However, the fact that students of color are (still) fighting for basic rights and visibility does not take away rights or visibility for white students. The rights that they’ve had for a longer time than students of color have will still apply no matter how much equality is won on the part of students of color.

Solidarity is an important concept to learn; it’s easier to feel less afraid of change when you understand why it has to happen. It’s not about attempting to overpower white students on campus and nobody is trying to get any rights taken away from white students, in the least. The fight is for equality; students that have lived all of their lives facing disadvantages because of what they look like or where they’re from tend to not wish such a horrible and disillusioning experience on anyone. We want our voices and stories heard as loudly as white voices and stories have been heard historically.

There is a huge difference between white students feeling like they need groups on campus to help them connect with their own diverse European cultures. However, it is another thing to start a group claiming that there is some sort of need for the increased representation of white students on campus. Whiteness is embedded deep into our campus, and the University as an institution. If you need a space for your own cultural exploration, make a group for Italian Americans, collectively take a look at the way your culture has been perceived historically in America, bond over the sorrow and hardship of your ancestors, and recognize everything that their sacrifices have privileged you.

There has been buzz around campus about a protest against this group, but as of now, nothing seems to have been finalized. In these times of racial turmoil that mirror the era when Berkeley became a hub for the social justice movement, it is important for people to remember that minority movements that focus on building up their people and communities and providing safe spaces are only in demand because no such thing has existed before.

In an institution where the voices of students of color have only begun to be heard recently, the environment can certainly feel uncomfortable for those who have seldom had anything denied to them institutionally; safe spaces and a voice on campus have been available to white students for a long time. The right to attend the same schools as white students is only a historically recent development for students of color.

As I finished writing this article, the issue seems to have resolved itself. At about 6 p.m. UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks and Vice Chancellor for Equality and Inclusion Na’ilah Suad Nasir released a statement announcing the resolution to the issue and the news that the site has been taken off of Facebook for good.

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