University Chronicle Extras:
Movies
|
Student Resources
|
Vote 04
|
Career
|
Scholarships
|
Travel
|
GradZone
News
Briefly
Calendar of Events
Commentary
Opinions
Sports
Diversions
World News
Classifieds
Login
Letter Submission
Search
Archive
Publishing Policy
Mail Subscriptions
St. Cloud State University
College Publisher
Home
>
Opinions
Letters to the Editor: Equal for some
Published:
Thursday, September 26, 2002
Andy Rennecke -- Sports Editor
I am not very proud to be at SCSU. This is a school that claims to push for equality through diversity. Instead, the school is anything but equal. I am a 22-year-old white male who has noticed that discrimination is a two-way street.
In a MGM class (MGMs are not mandatory in any other MnSCU school) everyone in the class was to share a time in which they were discriminated against. A female student shared a story of how her manager asked her male coworkers to carry heavier items while she was asked to carry the lighter ones. Julie Andrzejewski, our professor, said that was a great example of discrimination. After her story I shared my story as the person always asked to do the physical labor. Julie stopped me in mid sentence and said that my story did not count for the discussion because I was a white male and therefore could not be oppressed or discriminated against. For the rest of the semester I listened to how I was responsible for everything that has ever gone wrong in the world, just because of the color of my skin and gender. My skin color did not only limit me in that classroom but may also limit me to dorm selection. During a conversation with Shaje Ganny, last year’s Student Government president, he informed me that Lawrence Hall may only be limited to international students or people residing with international students. Minnesota paid a lot of money for the renovation of this building and it may not even be equally shared with its residents.
SCSU why have you forsaken me? I was born and raised in your state, yet, I have hated myself because of the color of my skin, I have not qualified for scholarships because I prefer the opposite gender, I have sat by while professors say my Christian beliefs were based on the thoughts of idiots, and now I may not have an equal chance to live in the comfort of a new dorm. I wish those three professors last year would have written a letter telling me that this school is a place of discrimination against its own residents.
Rob Smith
Senior, Business Major
