“The issue does not start on the surface level. The issue is deep rooted,” explains Mariama图雷, 工业与系统工程 少校和CMI的大使 核心 (Collectively 奥克兰 Retains Everyone) 程序.

“It’s institutionalized racism,” adds 洁Carrero, acting major in OU’s 美术学士学位. “一天结束的时候, that’s what [the issue] is and no one is talking about it because it’s so embedded into the system. 但是我们经历过.”

到达奥克兰后, Carrero felt the need for better representation of black students, and founded Kaleidoscope — an organization that gives underrepresented students a platform to showcase their artistic work — as well as the 十大菠菜台子 Black Lives Matter student organization. “If you want to see the change, be the change,” says Carrero. “它不需要很大. That very small thing could change someone’s life drastically. It’ll be something that they will remember when they go through a similar struggle.”

洁Carrero

Greater representation of underrepresented groups is just one way to impact change. Another way for institutions to help reduce barriers is to be more flexible with their expectations of incoming students.

“Professors have this tendency of acting like we all come from the same background,” Toure says. “[Students] don’t come from the same experiences. I want professors to acknowledge this on the first day of classes.”

“作为一名有色人种的学生, there is also a pressure to really represent your entire race,戈登说。. “You have to be successful, because there’s not a lot of you in this field.” In high school, Gordon, like many other students, felt that grades defined her success. But upon entering college, her priorities shifted, as did her role as a student. 

Ja 'Laaiyah戈登

“I used to be a tutor in high school and then I became the one that needed tutoring,” she says. “You have to be able to let go of that pride. I can now feel successful in what I’ve done as long as I am giving it my all.”

“Reaching your goals is a lot more challenging [as a student of color] because you have to work harder for the same thing as the person next to you who doesn’t look like you,Jennifer Medrano Delacruz说, psychology major and peer mentor with CMI. “It’s very real to be the only person of color in class and that to be normal.”

Jennifer Medrano Delacruz

“When you think about an average black student: nine times out of 10 they come from predominantly black institutions,卡雷罗解释道. “但后来, they get into college and into their 程序 and they’re not seeing their people, they’re not hearing anything about their people in this field. But they’re expected to apply themselves even harder to get over those barriers.”

“We know how discouraging it feels sometimes and how overwhelming [college] can be,Dana Cogshell说, human resources development major and fellow peer mentor with CMI. “To be successful means to help someone through the transition that is college and what it’s like to be a minority student in that setting.“

Cogshell, Carrero, Delacruz, Gordon and Toure find that the best way to overcome these and similar challenges is by getting involved on campus, helping others and finding like-minded students that encourage one another.

“I have learned that you will always find your crowd — people like you — once you make a conscious decision to be a part of the community,图雷说。. “I love being in a space where I am consistently growing intellectually, 精神上, 在情感上, 身体上和经济上.”

“What matters most is helping one person who needs gui跳舞 and then helping them to impact others,Cogshell解释道. “It’s really about creating a legacy and creating a change for an environment where other students can enter and hopefully not struggle as much.”

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