In response to your Oct. 25 letter on the Diversity Plan at Ohio State, I would like to answer some of your questions and correct some concepts you have mixed up in your mind.I am an African-American student who feels discriminated against at this university. As the year progresses, you will be able to understand why I feel this way.For starters, if you attended Buckeye Blast you would have seen that there was a comedian named Carrot Top who performed and hosted this event.I have been here two years and there has never been even a co-host of this “university” event that I could relate to. Last time I checked, I was a part of this university also. Moreover, the events in the Oval and in front of the Ohio Union are catered to more of the Caucasian population of this school than anyone else on this campus.Prime example: The events on this campus where radio stations are present.There are always radio stations invited that play music like The Goo Goo Dolls and Metallica (no disrespect to either group or the stations that play their music), but you never see 107.5 FM, a station that plays urban music, on campus unless they are present at the Frank W. Hale Cultural Center (the only place on campus centered for African-American students to observe and be with their culture).If you still want to get on discrimination, let’s get on the poster sales that happen in front of the Ohio Union.There are posters being sold of every movie with a majority Caucasian cast and every Caucasian artist’s painting, and every Caucasian based musical act from the Beatles to ZZ Top, but the only posters being sold that African-American students can relate to are artists who have become mainstream or that Caucasians listen to, such as 2Pac and Jay-Z.You also see a lot of Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley, but every poster you see of them they are holding a joint either in their hand or in their mouths. This is not the image I want other races to have of my people.In response to your original question about why we, minorities, should have scholarship funds is because we have been denied opportunities in this country since the day we stepped foot on American soil and it’s about time that we be reinforced for the hardships you, meaning American society, put us through.Another reason is because the majority of minority students don’t come from ritzy high class or even “well-off” middle-class families, therefore making it hard for our parents to pay for an education we know we deserve and have earned.I don’t know if you have ever heard of a concept in the workplace known as the glass ceiling. If not, research it. A lot of minority parents work under this concept, therefore making it hard to pay tuition for a child in college.Also, if you did any research before writing your article you would know the number one reason for minority students, especially African-Americans, dropping out of college is due to lack of funding. This would explain our low graduation rates.Unfortunately, there aren’t enough scholarships out there to help support us or enough professors we can relate to that could help us get the grades to get the scholarships that are open to all students, so we can remain in school and graduate.Also, to make a correction, there is only ONE African-American floor throughout this entire campus. That floor is not specifically for African-Americans, but for students who want to experience black culture. It’s not the university’s fault if no one other than African-American students want to experience this culture.The reason you didn’t see an all-Caucasian box on your application is because every dorm on this campus is predominately white, meaning we as minorities have to experience your culture everyday no matter where we live, but you only have to experience ours on the 16th floor of Lincoln Tower.Do you still feel discriminated against?Nonetheless, for your idea of not bringing more minorities to Ohio State and just “dealing” with the ones that are already here, how do you plan to implement this? Do you plan to go through every application and deny every student admission who checked a box other than Caucasian?If this is how you plan to resolve the issue of minorities and diversity you have just gone against Brown v. the Board of Education and have committed one of the biggest forms of discrimination in the United States of America.
Jessica Smith is a sophomore communications and African-American and African studies major.