I have never concentrated so intently on the race issue as I have done in the past two years of my college experience. I have barely passed the stage of feeling self-conscious about sitting with my “white” friends in John Jay or sitting with my “black” friends in front of Lerner. Either way I feel funny because limiting myself to any particular group defeats part of my educational quest and limits the growth-potential of my learning curve.

The hate crimes on campus over the past weeks have made the idea of mixing, learning, and forming solidarity with other groups and races even more difficult. I wonder whether hate crimes are only administrative problems. The admissions office can bring diverse students to Columbia, but diversity isn’t created by isolated groups of different cultures co-existing. Diversity is created by our willingness to learn from each other, discover our similarities, and learn from our differences. After all, before we became races we were first human.

I am black. I am African. I am not going to bore you with details of good African food that leaves you day dreaming of the next meal or describe women whose hips and curves flow like hills leading to the skies, but I wish everyone could share in my experience. But, by asking everyone to be African, I would miss out on treats of quesedillas from my Mexican friends. I would miss the influence of my friend Bryan, whose list of underground hip hop music helps me to stay conscious when I get way into my capitalist side. Ahmed will not be able to challenge my faith with his consistency in praying five times a day if I condemn his background as evil. I sometimes need him to be who he is to encourage me to be who I am. We live off each other. I am because you are.

As I write this article, I wonder whether people who commit hate crimes deserve my attention. Yes, hate crimes occur, but we never treat people better than we treat ourselves. I find it interesting that people think being rude is necessary, but being rude is simply a manifestation of internalized confusion and an inferiority complex. That’s why I feel the majority of Americans who care about peace in the world are disappointed about the current government’s misrepresentation of the American. To think of all Americans as war-loving is like painting each black person you see with your idea of the worst hip-hop artist you know, or each African from the 57 countries on the continent as a character from The Gods Must Be Crazy.

People who spread hate must be warned, arrested, or expelled when necessary, but can all the open minded, good willing, human loving people please unite? If people who hate evil unite, they will form the new majority against any form of terror in our community and world.

Columbia has a lot of work to do in making its community a safe one. While the University takes steps to protect everyone from hate, I think the students have a role in determining how Columbia builds the house we live in. We must start forming bridges amongst our ourselves, with our cultural groups and beyond, because asking Columbia for safety from hate might be impossible since Columbia can’t scan the deepest thoughts of its applicants.

Unlike the U.S. government, which has spent a sizeable budget digging out innocent people as terrorists, creating fear around the world, and sparking more terror and hatred toward the U.S. from its distant neighbors, Columbia should invest in shortening the distances between schools and cultural groups. We must, as a people with a conscience and a sense of justice, do our best not only to co-exist but to merge. We are the best representatives of our Columbia. The “Bollingers” will come and go but we will be here and our children will be here and they will ask us about what we did for the alma mater to which we will be coaxing them to apply.

Maybe I am too naive, but I want to believe in the human will to be good. I want to believe that the people who spend countless hours putting together peace concerts, organizing "save the earth" events, setting up HIV/AIDS awareness clinics, and working on other grass roots activist movements are not working in vain. These past weeks have been difficult. I hope we get stronger as friends and strengthen each other through harmony.

It is in the spirit of these events and in the hope of recovering from the wounds that we inflict on each other that I invite you to a live performance of “Osekre’s Vibe”—themed Verses for the Masses on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. in Lerner C555. This event and space will be created for us to interact, communicate, make new friends across cultures and boundaries and share with each other without simply co-existing independently in different groups. Highlights of the event will spoken word performances. Gifted artists in both graduate and undergraduate schools, including Reni Laine, Jamie Jackson, Alex Silva, and John Luna will be there to share poetry, stories, articles, and music to encourage and unify our campus against hate.

Ishmael Osekre is a student in the School of General Studies.
Osekre’s Vibe runs alternate Wednesdays.
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