University of Maryland’s decision to start a “White Awake” group providing “space” for white students to discuss race has backfired, as students are calling the group “unnecessary” and “ridiculous.”
Announced by the university’s counseling center, the flyers of the group were posted across the campus last week asking questions, “Do you sometimes feel uncomfortable and confused before, during, or after interactions with racial and ethnic minorities?”
I am ashamed over the execution of white awake nor do I fully understand its clause. “How they can fit into a diverse world”? Why do they need to attend therapy sessions on how to be a decent human being in society? Why do they need to have these sessions to learn how to coexist? pic.twitter.com/AaPOLz05vu
— queen of atlantis 🧜🏾♀️ (@LoveConweezy27) September 13, 2018
The students are questioning whether there is a need for such a group.
“If they want to talk about diversity, there are other ways to do it. They need to understand where other ethnic groups are coming from,” a Maryland student told Fox 5 News.
“It would work better if everyone was talking collectively about the issues and concerns that they have instead of this group feeling like they need to do this. If you get a bunch of white people in a room, then I don’t see how you are really going to understand how racial dynamics work.”
In a statement, the university said that the goal was to promote anti-racism.
“We agree with the feedback that the flyer was not clear enough in conveying the fact that the purpose of this group is to promote anti-racism and becoming a better ally,” the statement said.
“We didn’t choose the right words for the flyer, and we are going to incorporate the feedback we have received into a revision of it. Again, we will discontinue use of the current flyer.”
The university has changed the name of the group to “Anti-Racism and Ally Building Group.”