Penn State students shared stories of racism they have encountered at the university and faculty talked about what could lead to change, in the second roundtable discussion in the “Toward Racial Equity at Penn State”series Tuesday night.
Nyla Holland, an undergrad student and president of the Black Caucus, talked about racism she’s experienced at Penn State starting freshman year.
“I was walking with a group of kids from my dorm. We were all Black walking downtown,” Holland said. “And there was a Jeep full of white people, I think students. And they yelled that we looked like monkeys in a zoo. And that was my first weekend here.”
A Penn State Berks student said she was asked for her ID when gathered with other Latino students on campus.
She said she shows that she belongs by working harder. But moderator Jennifer Hamer, a professor of African American studies at Penn State, said students of color shouldn’t have to work harder to prove themselves. She said the university is a step behind when it comes to equity.
“I’ve only been here a year and I’ve been at several institutions and,” Hamer said, “quite honestly I have found Penn State to be stagnant relative to some of these other institutions.”
José Soto, an associate professor of psychology at Penn State, researches the effects of racism on students. He said it can make it harder for students to succeed and make it more likely that they develop anxiety disorders.
"We’re living in a time that has really sort of pulled back kind of the ugly kind of foundation that our society is built upon that has a lot of these inequities baked in,” Soto said.
Soto said policy changes can increase equity and access.
Holland said she doesn’t want to face microaggressions, but wants change to go beyond that.
“I want a campus climate that doesn’t have to put up signs or slogans to market itself as inclusive. I want it to feel inclusive. I want it to operate like I’m supposed to be there,” Holland said.
The Penn State board of trustees will have an unconscious bias training on September 14.
The final roundtable discussion in the series will take place Nov. 4 at 6 p.m.
