This article is in response to College Student Disciplined for Photo Depicting Blackface originally published in the New York times

Last week, a Quinnipiac student was expelled for posting a photo on Snapchat depicting blackface. The uproar was immediate, and opinions ranged; some cited the incident as being blown out of proportion, while the outrage of others brought about national conversation and immediate action of the school.

While the expulsion of the student did show that Quinnipiac officials recognized that the situation needed recognition and consequence, the expulsion of one student does not remove the imbalanced campus culture, made up of an inherent divide between the majority of white students and the underrepresented minority students.

This ignorance and insensitivity on our campus is not just an issue. It is a social injustice. It is a human injustice. It is an indifference to the emotions of another, the disrespect of a national history embodying the heartlessness in our humanity.

We ask ourselves, as underrepresented minorities, why they don’t care. Why they don’t understand, and why they actively act against all of the progress made towards the benefit of the underrepresented?

Why?

I look around, surrounded by many motivated, intelligent, and passionate minority students. People who have pushed through pain and judgment and stereotypes.

We are not supporting each other.

While I support Black students, and Black lives, I realize that I have never once attended a Black Student Union meeting on this campus. The times that I have attended Latin-based events, those represented in the audience are primarily Latin students.

There is a problem with this.

Why is attendance not comprised of more minorities? Why is there not a tighter bond among these groups?

Until we can fully support each other, how can we expect the same from those who refuse to understand?

We must make our stance and our voices known, by continuing to fight against these imbalances in our campus culture. We may be the few, but we matter, and we deserve respect and proper representation on this campus.

It starts with us.

In our combined support, we can then make a positive and impactful change on the student body through cooperation and education, rather than continued division and criticism of others.