In a message posted to Facebook last Wednesday, a student at Shippensburg University said she and a friend of hers were allegedly targeted and harassed by fellow students who hurled the N-word at them multiple times. 

When something happens on our campus like this, it comes down to the entire community to band together and call these actions for what they are: Deplorable and unacceptable. 

However, with this comes an obligation of ours to educate the perpetrators and attempt to help them see the error of their ways. 

Nobody deserves to feel like a stranger in a familiar land on our campus. Nobody deserves to feel like they do not have a voice in the chorus, or a spot at the table. 

Shippensburg University’s administration sets a very high bar by saying all students are a part of the “Ship Family.” And even though we oftentimes fall short of this ideal, this I know: We share a very tight bond. When things like this happen, the 183 comments and 227 shares on Facebook as of Sunday evening speaks to the brotherhood and sisterhood we feel on this campus. 

We stand with these students who allege they were harassed, and we dedicate ourselves to finding the culprit.

But what do we do when we find these people? Some cry for expulsion and punishment, and they are very justified to do so. Such actions have no place in our family’s home and ought to be dealt with and discouraged. But I think there is a better solution. 

This incident coincides with the onset of the Week of Human Understanding. The theme of the week is “Deep civility,” where students are encouraged to have civil and compassionate conversations with one another, particularly with those who may be very unlike them. The goal of this is to break down barriers we might see between others on campus and to create a more united student body. 

On Wednesday, Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post journalist Eli Saslow will speak at the H. Ric Luhrs Performing Arts Center. Saslow recently released a book titled “Rising out of Hatred,” which follows how Derek Black, the would-be prodigal heir to the American white nationalist movement, left the movement.

Black’s classmates eventually realized who he was. Most outright shunned him. However, despite his anti-semitic views, several Jewish students took him in and accepted him. Black was able to see all the similarities that tied himself to these individuals, and because he was physically around them, he found he could humanize them. 

In the end, Black publicly disavowed his beliefs, apologized for any and all harm he may have caused, and left the world of white supremacy for good, to the chagrin of his old friends and family, including previous grand wizards of the Ku Klux Klan. 

Black’s story is important because it demonstrates the power of education and compassion. Because he was able to speak to those he had for so long hated and feared, he was able to relate to members of the Jewish community, he realized they too deserved dignity and respect, and that he was not very different from them at all. I believe the same thing can happen at Shippensburg University. 

No matter what, we are all capable of being better versions of ourselves. But sometimes we need help becoming that better version.

If we cast out the students who made the racist comments and exclude them from our community, we accomplish nothing and allow them to reinforce their ideas on race in exile. But if we invite them in — not be apologists for their behavior, but rather help them see how their comments and preconceptions are wrong, we can make a genuine difference and dispel their beliefs. 

I urge my fellow students to attend Week of Human Understanding events and partake in the dialogue. I especially invite those who made the comments about the young women mentioned earlier. 

Only through education and compassion can we combat racism and eventually put an end to it. 

Share