The Lamron

Issue date: 4/26/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Taryn Thompson From left, Tarik Kitson, Cortez Jones, Scott Snowden, Donté Ray and Maurice Brown stand with professor Emilye Crosby after presenting at G.R.E.A.T. day.

In early December 2006, six students co-wrote a letter and dropped it in the mailboxes of several administrators. The letter said that members of the African-American community at Geneseo had "recently experienced many acts of racial injustice" and had decided to "come together and fight the issues that have put us in a very depressed and academically unmotivated state."

The students, who include juniors Cortez Jones, Tarik Kitson, Maurice Brown and Donté Ray, and sophomores Christopher Neels and Scott Snowden, had been deliberating over the campus-wide problem of violent and verbal acts of racial injustice, and decided to take it upon themselves to initiate change. Their letter expressed interest in meeting with College officials to discuss their perceptions pertaining to bias related acts, the student disciplinary process, and the recruitment of African-American students.

As a group, the six students call themselves FARI (Fighting Against Racial Injustice), and said they represent not only themselves, but the black student community as a whole. "We want to be the spokespeople, the voice of those who are too intimidated to speak out," said Jones. "People are heard through us. We're the liaison between minority students and the people that will help us make the necessary changes."

Oppressive forces hinder success

Members of FARI point out that, while battling the larger issue of racism is the main motivator, the day-to-day suffering they witness and experience is just as debilitating. "When you first come to Geneseo, you think it's not so bad," said Ray. "In your first semester, you encounter maybe a couple acts of racism, either directly or indirectly. Your second semester, it's the same thing - not a big deal. But then it just continues. Racist comments and jokes are passed and racist actions are made left and right, and without consequence," Ray said.

Several of the members explained a scenario in which they find themselves far too often: being the only black student in an entire class. "You feel out-of-place, like you don't belong there, because everyone else is white," Jones said. "Your professors and the other students in the class see you as a representative of the general black community, which isn't true," he said. FARI agreed that they have each personally been asked to describe - to a class - different aspects of "being black," or to explain situations or literature that involve or relate to black people.

Continued...

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