We Have Two

 

While in graduate school at Columbia, I sat in a classroom with about

40 of my peers during a "discussion section." There were only two

students of color in the classroom--me and one of my closest friends.

This class had been the source of mass discomfort for my friend and I

because our professor--a highly respected and lauded columnist whom

the majority of the class could not stand because he was also an

extremely insecure man--had a habit of making offensive comments to

everyone he possibly could. He once refered to a student as a "white

waste" because he did not answer a question quickly enough, which

shocked the hell out of me until he turned and referred to another

student as a "Pollack" (she was wearing a shirt that said that,

apparently unaware that it was an offensive term for those of Polish

descent.) He had a great time berating her to nearly the point of

tears.

 

We somehow got on the topic of diversity within the school itself

during one of these classes (during which my friend and I exchanged

knowing looks.) The professor said "Well, we've got two in the

classroom right now, and I think that's pretty good."

 

(Is anyone surprised to read he is a white male?)

 

Two? As in...eggs? Glasses? PEOPLE? God forbid we have names. Thirty

eight heads looked in the direction of my friend and me. We just

smiled that "Oh it's ok...no offense taken to your ridiculously

offensive comment."

 

Also important to note that there were about 20 students of color in a

class of just under 500. Oh, Ivy League education...