Dear Wellesley,
This past week, chalkings displaying publicity for an event and cultural pride were vandalized. The Asian Student Union(ASU) chalked the campus in order to promote their fall party, SWAG: Something We Asians Got. Someone wrote “Don’t go to” near their chalkings by the Tower Complex. This action was disrespectful and should not be tolerated.
Wellesley has a history of disrespect for public displays of cultural pride, which goes back at least to 1988, when chalkings displaying lesbian pride were vandalized. In 2010, Wellesley Asian Alliance did a poster campaign for Asian Awareness Month. These posters were a call to action for more resources for the Asian community on campus and detailed the reality of stereotypes about Asians. These posters were responded to with a counter campaign that showed a lack of understanding of the challenges that women of color face.
Those who don’t know their history are destined to repeat it. Wellesley has a lot of great traditions, but the tradition of degrading those who we perceive to be different needs to stop.
We can and should do better. One of the ways we can improve our community is working towards multicultural competency. With the launch of the Initiative for Diversity and Inclusion for Students, this year is critical in shaping the direction our community takes in supporting students. It is critical that we take part in creating a new legacy of multicultural understanding so we can be proud of our traditions and ourselves.
Sincerely,
Lindsay Barnes
Multicultural Affairs Coordinator
College Government Cabinet ’11-12
mac@wellesley.edu