Re: Wash. U. is segregated

Dear Editor,

An article entitled “Wash U is segregated” was published in Student Life recently, describing our campus as self-segregated. Apparently, that was a surprising fact to some readers.

As a black male who is now a senior, it was not a surprising observation to me. Yet, judging from reactions posted on the newspaper Website, and on facebook, many readers were deeply offended by the column. People called the article– and the newspaper– racist. Some students even proposed sit-ins.

I think that is absurd. The article made an observation. Agree or disagree. Don’t shut down the discussion.

It is unproductive when people react to a provocative article with unfounded claims that institutions and people are racist. When discussions of race are met so passionately, it causes people to avoid the topic. Race needs to be discussed. Obviously, some people’s sensitivities were offended by the piece. But that should be the start of a conversation, not the end of one.

Why don’t we try to discuss and resolve these issues with one another?

Instead of reacting in an impassioned moment and updating our facebook statuses or rallying our friends around a cause that may be half-baked, we should take a moment and think. Let’s not assign the worst motives to one another. Let’s try to be more reasonable in our responses. Ultimately, that will do our campus and our society a lot of good, especially when the topic is as inflammatory as race.

Michael Fletcher
Class of 2012