Ibm Reflection

Improved Essays
Early in the semester, my roommate and I were discussing one of her experiences on the UVM debate team. She had been having trouble with an arrogant member on her team and was describing her frustration to me, when her boyfriend interjected “He thinks he can be a jerk because he’s black, that doesn’t make it okay be a douche.” To avoid confrontation with essentially a stranger I uncomfortably exchanged looks with my roommate and quickly changed the subject. Four months later, I’ve come to understand that it’s not uncommon to witness microaggressions or even blatant disregard for racism on campus. Whether that is in the classroom, through conversation or on social media outlets like YikYak, far too often have I read or heard the phrase “why …show more content…
The graduation in its entirety was relatively conventional and predictable; we dressed in the traditional caps and gowns, received our diplomas and moved our tassels from right to left, it was not a necessarily extraordinary experience. However to my childhood best friend from Weston, Connecticut it was astonishing, “I can’t believe how many black teachers and students there were” she whispered to me after the ceremony. Speechless, I did not reply to her remark. In the moment I was not sure if I should react with anger or with equal astonishment. Thinking back now, I understand that it did not come from a place of contempt, but rather genuine surprise. There is still a tremendous amount of social segregation within our culture, something I myself was not conscious of until that moment. Yes I was aware of the social injustices in the world and the systematic oppression in place, but I had separated it so far away from my own experiences that it came as a shock that someone I associated with could be such a conspicuous perpetrator of implicit …show more content…
By purposely avoiding categorical identities she creates a sense of insufficiency amongst the reader. It speaks to both the importance of race in society and also with the assumptions and images associated to our rigid categorizations. That fact that we as the reader have such an overpowering urge to classify the two major characters is an indicator of how race is still relevant. In this instance we are given a literal circumstance where race is not present and all we want to know is the color of the two girls’

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