Recently, Butler University has had multiple instances of racial discrimination and harassment. In a year full of concerns being raised about sexual assault and changes in the Office of the Title IX Coordinator, there is a sense of unease surrounding the school. Students have become uneasy and unhappy. There are questions about how the school will handle Title IX cases and how sexual assault is going to be managed.
Campus safety has been under fire since the first semester when the BUPD took much longer than necessary to respond to a call of an armed intrusion of a house just off campus. Many are beginning to speak out against the racism and discrimination being shown on this campus, as there have been several incidents in which the decisions were made seemingly on only a racial basis, regardless of what the evidence said. As a part of the Butler University community, I have decided to join those speaking out.
As a campus community, we strive to abide by The Butler Way which stresses Humility, Passion, Unity, Servanthood, and Thankfulness. According to The Butler Way, we as a campus are to recognize our strengths and weaknesses, commit to excellence, refrain from dividing people, make each other better and lead by giving, and to learn from every circumstance.
The way in which multiple cases of discrimination and racism have been handled certainly recognizes the weakness the University has in handling them, but has shown the strength in students standing with peers that are being discriminated against. These cases and the way in which they're handled are not a commitment to excellence, they're a perpetuation of a problem that should have been solved many years ago. If things like this continue to happen, there will always be racial injustice in the world.
These incidents only divide people, forcing them to take sides and pit one against another. These situations prove that we are not leading by giving, we are not being the leaders that the world needs. In a world of injustice, we need people with compassion and tolerance, and these incidents are supporting the opposite. All I hope is that we will learn from these circumstances and realize the injustice being done to not only this, but all students of color on Butler University's campus.
This is an issue that this country has faced since its conception, and while there have been remarkable strides made towards elimination of racism and discrimination, it still exists. If events such as this continue to occur, there will always be racism in this world.
It needs to end now, and it starts with us.
