To the white Marquette community,

Yes, you, of ambiguously European ancestry, who have been lucky enough to avoid being referred to by the color of your collective skin. Preferring instead to be "Caucasian" or more likely "insertEuropeancountryhere-American," you may be quite uncomfortable with me addressing you by what you unarguably are: white. Perhaps we whites fear to use that term because of the inevitable unstated connection to that fearful opposite, (black!) or perhaps it is because of that sterilized truth we rarely hear after it, (privilege) but in any event ,we hear the word white and we think "that isn't me." It is usually followed by, "I'm not racist."

Well, I'm not here to call everyone who is white a racist. After all, my skin, though tending to brown quite handsomely during the summer, tends to be a mild khaki for most of the year. I am, without a doubt, white. Being white, there is a unique history that we have inherited — that of oppression, genocide and (you guessed it!) racism. Ouch. Now, let me repeat. I'm not here to call everyone who is white a racist. After all, most whites are far from the classical definition. However, something that happened to me last week made my white existence all the clearer, and I think it needs to be shared.

As I walked to class on one beautiful brisk morning, I crossed paths with a man. As our eyes made contact I smiled and said, "Good morning." He took a few more steps, now behind me and said, "Oh, so you'll talk to a black man now." In a tone that perhaps betrayed my naivety, but hopefully my kindness ,I said, "Of course!" I then told him to have a good day, and he replied the same. As I walked on, I just had to think. What kind of treatment has the white Marquette community given this man in the past? He was not only pleasantly surprised by my greeting, (as I imagine any person would be) but also downright shocked that I even spoke to him.

I'm sorry to say this to you, my white Marquette community, but I am sure that this man's experience is not isolated. Marquette is viewed as being far from welcoming toward non-whites, and it will take the collective effort of the entire university to change that perception.

No, you may not be 'racist,' but we bear the original sin of a racist history and society. No one can escape that unscathed. We cannot change the past, but all I ask is this: If we want to change the future, we must at least have the decency to look a human being in the eye and smile.

Carlo Giombi is a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences.