I attended SUNY New Paltz Fall of 2018, as a Freshman. Before arriving at New Paltz, I was aware that I was going to learn many different things, academically. I knew that I was also going to experience things outside of lectures that were going to play a big role in my life in general and as a student on campus. What I did not expect was to not only learn about but experience different matters having to do with race, racism, and ethnicity.

Sometime during the Fall semester, there was a picture of a young White man mocking Mexicans who were being detained by ICE. Obviously, this is a very sensitive topic and one that has no humor attached to it so it was not taken lightly by Non-white students.

The young man was a part of the school’s Basketball team hence the reason why when the picture reached the faculty, not much was done. It was water under the bridge. Instead of holding him accountable for his actions, he was assigned two “bodyguards” to escort him around campus.

Because adequate actions were not taken, students on campus decided to take matters into their own. A march on campus was organized and I decided to join. During the march, we walked into different buildings, and faculty offices, and many upperclassmen gave speeches.

Being a part of this as a Freshman changed the way I view social issues about race, racism, and ethnicity. It was my first time experiencing anything like that. After that first experience, I joined different events and activities on campus to expand my knowledge. It is part of the reason why I started taking Black Studies classes.