Students at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania are being encouraged by the campus Democrat club to wear a white pin for a year to help them reflect on their "white privilege and the impact white privilege has on people of color." The campaign was launched over the weekend by the Elizabethtown College Democrats, who say it aims to make students at the small and private liberal arts college in Pennsylvania more introspective about issues of race, especially in their predominantly white region of Lancaster County.
Reached by College Fix via email, the President of the Elizabethtown College Democrats said that no matter how accepting white people are it "doesn’t stop them from being part of a system based on centuries of inequality."
“Discussions about race are often perceived as being only open to people of color, but I think it is just as important for white people to partake in conversations about race,” Aileen Ida, president of the College Democrats, told The College Fix via email.
Ida said white people are continually allowing for a societal system of oppression to occur unless they work against it. The white puzzle piece pin represents racial struggles of all sorts.
“No matter how accepting someone is, that doesn’t stop them from being part of a system based on centuries of inequality,” she said, adding the campaign transcends politics.
Take a quick glimpse of what our campaign will involve! pic.twitter.com/bH2EC1lILl
— Etown College Dems (@EtownCollegeDem) February 10, 2017
Asked if all white students are 'privileged', Ida quickly dropped some of the knowledge she's managed to accumulate in here vast 18ish years of worldly experiences by responding with a simple, “yes”...what more is there to say really? While conceding that she doesn’t think all whites are socioeconomically privileged, Ida, to our complete shock, declined to cite specific examples of white privilege...way to act on your convictions supported by carefully considered facts and figures, Ida.
She also clarified that it’s not just white students who can wear the pins, that students of all races should take part to start a campuswide discussion that crosses racial divides.
Yet, she notes most people of color already have to live with racism while white people don’t.
“I believe that this [inherent white privilege] can be seen in the day-to-day life of people of color versus the day-to-day life of white people,” Ida said. “Most people of color don’t have a choice but to consider how their race affects their life on a daily basis, this is not true for most white people.”
Meanwhile, a Facebook post by the "Etown College Dems" helped to shed some additional light on the effort.
The Elizabethtown College Democrats are proud to announce a campaign being launched this weekend! This project, which is slightly modified for our use, was started by a ELCA Lutheran Pastor from Wisconsin named Barb Girod. Barb made a commitment to wear a white puzzle piece pin every day for a year to force herself to think about her white privilege and the impact white privilege has on people of color. This project, along with ours, forces everybody to think about racial issues people face daily.
The project sponsored by the Elizabethtown College Democrats will follow Barb’s inspiring initiative to create the conversation greatly needed in Central Pennsylvania. Students on campus and in the community are encouraged to join our campaign to think about one thing – how race affects their life, whether directly or indirectly. Following the launch of our pin campaign, a sister campaign will be launched where students have the opportunity to anonymously tell personal stories about how race affects their everyday lives.
There will be a kick-off at the Mosaic House (346 E. Orange Street, Elizabethtown, PA) Sat., Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. where the project will be explained in full and guest speakers will present on the topic of racial privilege and the importance of such a conversation. There will be food and drinks! This event is free and open to the public.
And, our parting thoughts...