The editorial board for the student newspaper at Williams College is calling on the school implement racially segregated housing in order to make the college “a less harmful place” and become “a more inclusive institution.”
Williams College’s student newspaper echoed a proposal by a student group called Coalition Against Racist Education Now (CARE Now), which called on the school to implement racially segregated housing in order to make the college “a more inclusive institution,” according to The Williams Record.
CARE Now had recently released a list of twelve demands in an open letter, which included calling on the school’s trustees to fulfill their “obligation to the well-being and safety of its students, faculty and staff” by separating minority students from the rest of the campus body in order “take steps toward becoming a more inclusive institution.”
“The College can work toward making the College a less harmful place for those of marginalized identities and to take steps toward becoming a more inclusive institution,” read the student newspaper, stressing the importance of looking toward “CARE Now’s leadership as we collectively examine how to combat institutional violence at the College.”
The student newspaper then attempted to justify its support for separating black students from white students via housing by claiming that minority students feel “tokenized” on campus, as there are too many white students within their immediate surroundings.
“As a community, we must recognize that the College is a predominantly white institution in which students of color often feel tokenized, both in their residences and more broadly on campus,” stated The Williams Record, adding that while racially segregated housing alone may not be enough segregation to “solve this problem,” it’s a good start.
“It will assist in making the College a more welcoming, supportive and safe community for minoritized students,” argued the student newspaper.
“Some say affinity housing reinforces division,” acknowledged the editorial board, “We believe, however, that allowing for a space where students can express their identities without fear of tokenization or marginalization will encourage students to exist more freely in the broader campus community, rather than recede from it.”
The student newspaper then went on to argue that white athletes racially segregate themselves, too, whenever a team rents a house “on the private market.”
“The fact that [these houses] serve as a place where teams can congregate while people of minoritized identities do not have an equivalent space is a cause for concern,” affirmed The Williams Record, adding that the problem can be “resolved” by the school establishing its own “affinity housing.”
Williams College is not the only school where the campus community is demanding racial segregation in the name of “inclusion.” Last year, students and administrators at American University called on the school to create segregated “spaces” for minority students on campus, arguing that it would promote “diversity and inclusion” at the university.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo and on Instagram.
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