During my first semester as a Badger I've noticed many issues regarding racial discrimination. As an Atlanta native, moving to Madison has been a bit of a culture shock. I've always been accustomed to a variety of cultures and people down South, but moving up North has steadily decreased the abundance of culture I've come across. In regards to major issues on campus, I've witnessed various moments of cultural appropriation during the Halloween weekend. I felt personally affected by this because it was degrading my own culture. It also made me question how long I can withstand a school that will easily address an issue affecting a person of a white background, but will not acknowledge the severity of slandering another culture (e.g. wearing panchos, afros, spray tanning aka "black face").
Furthermore, this past November, many students of various ethnic backgrounds participated in a March for the students in Mizzou to help bring awareness to the issue of racial discrimination on college campuses. After this march, I considered being much more present in issues of racial discrimination by helping in any way that I can. Through the "Blackout UW Board of Regents" I will be utilizing this platform as a source for further growth in my activism.
This semester, I have also taken into consideration the blatant derogatory racist comments that Donald Trump has brought forth in his campaign.
As a son of two immigrant parents, I felt the necessity to voice my concerns for those in the Hispanic community who cannot speak for themselves because of language barriers. I've been working on a poetry mixtape about Donald Trump titled, "TRUMP," that will be released January, 29th, 2016. The project tackles topics of race, discrimination, and immigration. Taken from the idea of a celebrity who believes that he can dog whisper his way into the presidential seat is what the project is cenetred around.
As a second semester freshmen, some shifts I am noticing in my thinking of social surroundings is how much work we have left as a community. It isn't enough to know that these issues exist; it's about knowing and acting. We shape the world and our environment. Race is an issue that the environment uses to communicate how segregated we are. Thus, our response must be stronger and deeper than the contextual surface level. Only through learning and applying knowledge in social spaces and in our everyday lives, can we move forward towards a country rooted in unity instead of separation.
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