As a dual citizen who has lived and studied in both the United States and Brazil, I've returned to the States this year with a much different perspective than before I left, along with a much clearer image of what happens around us internationally and how a liberal college like Curry College sometimes addresses those issues.
When it comes to race and diversity at Curry College, there are certainly amazing groups like Amnesty International, the Student Government Association, Gay-Straight Alliance, and many others that contribute to collectively bettering the college and improving our standards of living here. Diversity is something that my two years at Curry College have tried to move me away from.
When I look around campus and ask myself how others around me are perceiving world events, I perceive apathy from the community. Where is the anger towards the brutality of the world and the innocent lives being lost?
I've certainly seen enough of the fear — fear that elevates demagogues like Donald Trump to such a level that he is now the Republican nominee for the US Presidency. We live in dangerous times, times where the influx of horrifying news seems like a tap you can't close. Where is the young spirit of fighting for the underdog, and committing ourselves to the problems that affect not only our own daily lives, but those around the world?
Where has the time of students performing sit-ins and peaceful protests gone? Where has our voice as a collective community gone? Why do we stand idle when we know that the world and its problems stretch far beyond our peaceful and privileged lives?
It could be any number of reasons why you prefer not to pay attention beyond what happens in your daily life, but I find that mindset to be rather naive. Challenge yourself to look beyond your comfort zone and acknowledge the very real issues that plague our society and the world, because ignorance is only bliss for so long.
Rise to the specific tasks you set for yourself as a college student, and don't take this opportunity for granted. There are billions of people who do not have access to higher education, who cannot afford the chance to let their mind expand and grow. While you may need to focus on yourself in order to attain those goals, you cannot ignore the plight of those around you as we enter very dangerous waters close to this election season.
As a dual citizen, I see that the United States is dangerously drifting away from the ideals of American justice, freedom, democracy, and liberty with our current nominees Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. America is at a boiling point: of racial issues, of the police system, of what our international stance and credibility should look like, and where the market is headed. Many voters feel trapped and feel intolerance towards the current system, and see this as the time to rebel against mainstream politics and media manipulation. Those who refuse to bear witness to these issues, those who turn a blind eye to the very present and complex reality we live in also blind themselves to the risk they pose to themselves in refusing to acknowledge reality.
College is an environment of intellectual stimulation, where ideas and controversies should be on the tip of every student's tongue, instead of following routine small talk. Higher education is meant to facilitate and encourage sometimes difficult discussions, which brings me to my final point of straying away from remaining silent in class. Keeping quiet in a college class that you are paying for and should be growing in is entirely your choice, but it is nonetheless the incorrect choice.
Do not limit your voice and your abilities out of fear of what others may think. You are here to make a point, and you have come to chase your dreams, but you will never do any of these things by lowering your head and allowing someone else to ask the question you've been dying to ask.
We, as college students, are in a place of opportunity we often take for granted. Living in Brazil, I learned about humility and realizing that you are one in a great many; it is extremely foolish to forget the majority of humans in constant favor of the few you may identify with.
Do not take your education for granted, and do not turn away from the realities that you may not personally experience or see. If the current platforms for diversity don't satisfy the complex issues you see on campus and in the world, then perhaps it's time to start a new group.
