If you are not aware of the term PWI, let me be the first to tell you that it stands for a predominantly white institution.Therefore, it is any college/university that is not an HBCU (Historically Black College/University) and has a majority of white students attending. Of course, there are some exceptions to this seeing that Georgia State has a majority of black students and is not a historically black university. However, my first year of college was not spent here at Georgia State, but at Washington College, a predominantly white institution.

Here is a little background on Washington College, since many people have never even heard of the school. Washington College is a small private liberal arts college in Chestertown, Maryland. According to the school, they were the first college established when the United States became an independent country.

As I began my first year at Washington College, I was blinded by freedom. I was an out-of-state student so my parents couldn't pop in on me whenever they wanted, and I felt free to do as I pleased. I did all the typical freshman things the first two months or so until I realized that I needed to chill out. I somewhat knew what I got myself into when I chose to go to Washington College, since the high school I attended was also predominantly white. The group of friends I hung out with were mostly white and we all made great memories together, staying up all hours of the night. Our Sunday ritual consisted of gathering in one of our rooms to watch "The Walking Dead" with mountains of food, and supporting each other in the various activities we did.

Of course, I went out searching for friends who looked a little more like me. I joined Cleopatra's Sisters, which is a group of women of all races who wanted to be a part of a sisterhood without the sorority feel. These ladies literally became my sisters and made me feel more at home than ever. The group was mostly black, with the exception of three lovely ladies, and they all made me feel safe enough to be wild and carefree.

You're probably wondering by now, 'What's the issue? You seem like you had a great time!' The issue comes in when I had to be a spokesperson for the black community even though I am just one person. The issue comes in when a group for black students is seen as only an interest group, and not a club that is beneficial for a specific group of students on campus. The issue comes in when you don't feel comfortable living with your roommate anymore because of the things she/he has told you. The issue comes in when you feel like you were accepted to the school so that they can claim that they are "diverse". These are just a few examples of many issues that black students at PWIs face.

I asked a friend of mine about her experience of being a black student on a PWI campus and what she said didn't surprise me.

'I used to live in California. California is one of those places that is really the definition of diversity, so to come to enter a school where they proudly claim is a diverse place was exciting to me. I love learning about others' cultures and traditions because coexistence is important. However, at my school, it's different. Most of the people you meet are white. The people you see in pictures are mostly white students, and most of the leaders are, surprise, white. It's not the best representation of a diverse campus. If I didn't join the Black Student Union or other organizations under BSU, I don't think I would've enjoyed my experience at my school. I believe that I'm just a number on my campus sometimes. Just someone to add to their percentage of minorities to make themselves look and feel good to the public. Our president loves the word diversity, but I don't think he understands what it truly means. We had a protest on our campus in light of many students growing uncomfortable on our campus because of the behavior of certain groups of students. Many cultural organizations came together and formed over 60 demands in order to protect our students and ensure a safe campus. Our president responded to the demands in an email, which showed us how much he really cared and valued his minority students (not much at all). Being here at a PWI is different, not what I expected, but I'm not extremely surprised by the experience. People show their true colors every day in different ways here.' - Kumam, UMD College Park

Being a black student at a PWI is very difficult, especially on a small campus, but it's an experience that proves you can thrive where ever.