When we entered Andover last fall, we expected to arrive here and revel in the school’s exceptional academics and its renowned diversity. We expected to face the challenges of living away from home, rigorous academics and assimilating into a new culture. As underrepresented students of color, we understood that we would have to grapple with the additional issues of identity in a predominantly white community.
What we did not expect, however, was to encounter claims against our right to be here, assumptions about our backgrounds and the ignorance of some of our peers from our first day of classes last September. Andover is known as one of the most racially diverse New England boarding schools, yet microaggressions, racial slurs and other offensive actions occur on this campus every day. We have come to realize that dorms and dining halls serve as forums for a myriad of discussions that surround outdated opinions on race. We have experienced a reality contrary to the romanticization of Andover’s racial diversity.
We were aware that we would be forced to encounter these insulting opinions some day, but we never supposed that that day would be in the ninth grade. In only our first year of receiving one of the best educations we could have ever hoped for, we are being forced to turn the spotlight on ourselves.
Racialism, the act of stereotyping someone based upon their race, is an occurrence that is often unintended, but frequent on this campus. Many underrepresented students of color face “stereotype threat,” and often internalize these stereotypes to their own detriment. Microaggressions have belittled our confidence in affirming our place at this school. Hearing the term “Mexican” as an insult, being asked if we speak “African” or if we can wash our hair hinders our drive to excel during this essential year of our academic careers.
Many of us have been prematurely confronted about college admittance. Even as ninth graders, many of our peers have explicitly told us that we will be accepted into institutions of higher learning solely based upon our races. Affirmative action is perceived by many people in this community as a shortcut into college solely for blacks, Latinos and Native Americans. This perspective is not only fundamentally misguided, but insulting.
The weight of one’s scholarly admissions is not found in one’s race or ethnicity. Rather, like all Andover students, each of our outstanding qualities deem us worthy of admittance. It is essential for students and faculty in our community to understand this truth if we are to be truly invested in the wellness of “youth from every quarter” and the spirit of “non sibi.”
There are both positives and negatives to being an underrepresented student of color, and we are currently feeling the latter. While the Junior voice has been rather quiet during this movement, from now on we will not allow our voices to go unheard. These offenses by many of our peers, intentional or not, coupled with the inaction of people who do not feel connected to this movement, are deeply hurtful. Nothing will change if our peers, and we ourselves, refrain from getting involved in these conversations.
As the Seniors prepare to leave the school this June, we have individually resolved to continue this conversation. We, the five authors of this piece, are willing to further this conversation and educate our peers about our own racial experiences, but this responsibility does not need to fall upon the shoulders of every underrepresented student of color at this institution. We cannot act as the spokespeople for all our peers who are underrepresented students of color, but we can express our thoughts on this matter. During our Andover careers, we will ensure that this topic will not lie dormant.
