To the Editor:

Re: “Enlightened, At Least From My Perspective,” Opinion, Nov. 4

Zach Murray’s ’10 statement at the program house panel, “white students don’t have to think about diversity,” was expressed as a result of what I deem a growing frustration that he, I and many other students of color on this campus feel because of the inability or lack of effort on the part of many — not all — of the majority white community at empathizing with the minority experience.

The statement came amidst his broader point that critics of culturally-themed program houses often ignore the fact there is an inherently “white” theme at Cornell, as this is a university that is predominantly composed of white students. “Traditional” residential halls reflect this reality and exhibit a “white” theme. As a result of the “white” theme that is dominant on this campus, students of color are constantly reminded of the fact that they are a minority. In this sense, students of color are essentially forced to think about diversity on a daily basis, whereas white students, for whom being the majority is the norm, are not so regularly forced to think about race and diversity.

By taking the statement out of its context and immediately dismissing it as racist, the author fails to “consider the diverse array of perspectives” that he alludes to. I can’t help but question the author’s motivations in writing such an article, where his warnings against presuming one’s own enlightenment are intertwined with his failure at doing just that.

Daniel Blake ’11