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iaquariuschicken:

I know it’s 12:30am and I still have to finish writing this paper, but I can’t stop thinking about this thing that happened and it’s making me extremely upset and angry, so I’m going to write about it. Everyone on campus got this email today from Dean Mahoney:

Dear Students,

In the wake of wonderful recent conversations at Smith about our proud commitment to diversity of all kinds, I am very disheartened to tell you that a student has received a hateful anonymous note. The racism and homophobia reflected in the note is entirely unacceptable, especially at Smith where we strive to create a community that embraces difference. An investigation is under way. Please join me in condemning this cowardly behavior and doing everything you can to promote respectful communication.

Sincerely,

Maureen A. Mahoney
Dean of the College and Vice President for Campus Life
Smith College
College Hall 203
Northampton, MA 01063

First of all, this is a horrible thing in itself that should not have happened to anyone, and I was already angry that it did. Then I find out that the person who received the note is one of my friends, and now I’m just really upset. She is honestly one of the most amazing people I have ever met and is one of the best people I know. I don’t understand who would want to hurt her this way.

It was a note to a person of color basically telling her that Anne Spurzem was right and that she shouldnt be in this school. and called her some really bad names…

And the fact that it was obviously from a person in her house who’s been living with her all this time, it’s just frustrating to think about how hateful some people can be. Like, what was even your fucking point besides making someone feel like shit? Was it a necessary thing for you to ruin someone’s perfectly fucking okay day? What is wrong with you? Keep that shit to yourself, asshole. I am so upset about it that I can’t concentrate on my paper. I need to blog about it to get it out so I can focus.

WHAT EVEN FUCKING HELL. The person who put that cowardly anonymous note on my friend’s door should not even be going to Smith. FUCK THEM AND THEIR DOUCHE-ASS HATRED.

I think the reason why I’m so upset is because this could’ve happened to anyone. It’s hit me harder only because I know this girl and I care about her a lot, so of course I’m angry. But also, she is a queer person of color who has been very active in social justice things at Smith. That description fits me as well, and this just makes me think, like, I have a lot of great friends here that I love a lot, but this could’ve happened to me. Someone could’ve hated me so much for no real reason and been hateful enough to tell me about it just to upset me. And that’s just sad. It could’ve happened to anyone here, and it’s horrible that even at an institution like Smith, where supposedly we’re all progressive and accepting and ish, we still have people like that who are just hateful and disgusting.

Another thing. It seems to me that problems like this, racism, homophobia, etc., keep happening at Smith in cycles. Every ten years, people forget about these things, and they happen again and again. The institution needs to figure out a way to educate all Smithies about our history in a way that engages them so that people will actually listen. And they need to figure out a way to keep the dialogues going so that this doesn’t keep happening.