Last Friday, Katie Beczak scorned student protestors for fighting to help campus custodians obtain a living wage ("Protesting the protester," April 7). According to her, their cause is "completely lacking in substance," even though it likely helped contracted janitors achieve an hourly wage raise of $3.57. Worse, she believes that it's not worth "stand[ing] outside and chant[ing] for their jobs," even though the higher wage only provides workers $21,200 annually if they work full time for fifty weeks out of the year. Try raising a family on that.
Most inexplicable is Beczak's criticism of the Black Student Union's fight for racial equality. Perhaps she should read about how the white majority in America has used redlining, segregation, and housing discrimination to isolate African-Americans in our inner cities. State legislatures across the country have repeatedly circumvented court orders for equal public school funding, effectively denying many minority youth the chance to obtain a decent education. We should all be fighting for racial justice, not just the Black Student Union and related organizations.
Equally abhorrent is Beczak's belief that discrimination is not a problem on this campus. Every day I hear racial and ethnic slurs directed at various minority groups, especially African-Americans and Arabs. As a homosexual, I am constantly reminded of society's disdain for my existence every time I hear "that's so gay" and "so-and-so is such a fag." Maybe if you are a white heterosexual who had the privilege to go to a wealthy suburban school, it is easier to ignore the injustices that persist in our society.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
