Over the last year and a half I have read so much about racism on this campus, yet I have read so little to indicate that people understand the complexity of the problem and are sincere in trying to solve it. The letter titled “Arrest Suspects,” which appeared in the paper on Oct. 24, serves as a good example.

Tracy Deis, the author of the letter who is assuming a racially motivated incident, expressed feelings of “utter outrage and unbelief” upon learning a black man (whom she had tutored) was beaten up by five white men. I question if these feelings would have been evoked had the situation been reversed—and if not, why not?

Tracy goes on to mention that the DeKalb police don’t hesitate to take blacks to jail for everything from jay walking to fist fighting. This might just be an angry exaggeration or it might not be, but in any case, why should they hesitate? Why should the police hesitate to arrest anyone who breaks the law?

In her letter, Tracy refers to the man who saved the victim as “the white man,” while she expands to refer to the victim as a “brother.” Can one be a “brother” only if he is black? If so, this sadly alienates, if not excludes, a large number of people. Isn’t this what we are trying to overcome?

If the witness, license plate number and suspects involved in this case all pan out, hopefully the offenders will be punished under due process.

Until the investigation is completed, however, and hopefully long after the incident has passed, we can contemplate this final point: The problem of racism in our society (specifically on our campus) and the burden of solving it do not rest on the shoulders of any one ethnic group or race; they rest on all of us. Change can only come about with more of an understanding in our heads and more compassion in our hearts.

Wendy Bernard

Senior

French, political science