By Austin Norville ’15
THE ROUNDUP
Students and faculty believe racism is still a problem today.
“There’s definitely still racism, there always has been and generally always will be,” said Tom Rainer ’15. “You’re never going to be able to get rid of that tension between groups.”
According to Rainer, the reason racism occurs is because it is just a part of human nature.
“You can cut down on it; I think we should focus on that,” Rainer said. “It’s sad to say that but in light of that there is at least still a way we can cut back on it. I think at Summit we should focus less on trying to get rid of it and focus on trying to remedy it.”
This year’s Summit on Human Dignity in March will focus on race.
Mrs. Sue Hornbeck said she also thinks that there is still racism today, although not as blatant as in the past.
“I certainly think that we are still not at the level where all of humanity is created equal,” Mrs. Hornbeck said. “I think one of the biggest areas is education. It’s not blatant but, it’s the fact that they do it unintentionally.”
According to Mrs. Hornbeck, the fact that some people will not go into struggling communities to teach is borderline racism and the students living in those communities are denied a quality education.
“Education becomes not the quality that we are all lucky to have, then when those students aren’t prepared and then when they do go to college, how many of those students don’t graduate in four years?” Mrs. Hornbeck said. “I think in our hearts it’s unintentional, although a few do it intentionally, the KKK, but I think that’s such a small portion of the population.”
Mrs. Hornbeck said she believes that until we look at humanity as we are all equal, there will always be a part of racism for anyone of a different race.
“I think Brophy does a great job of (promoting that approach),” Mrs. Hornbeck said. “I think certainly when people come to our campus they are always surprised about how loving we are.”
Mrs. Hornbeck said we need to bring in speakers and be able to reach out to communities and other school campuses.
“I think our Jesuit education calls us to do a good job. Could we do a better job? Certainty; in times gone by we did not have the Black Student Union … I think as a whole we do a pretty good job,” Mrs. Hornbeck said.
Student Chris Hubbard ’15 believes racism is still an issue today as well.
“I do believe there is still racism today. In my case, it involves how smart I am and the fact that I go to Brophy. When I tell most people that I go to Brophy, they are usually not only highly impressed, but a bit skeptical as well,” Hubbard said. “Also, the recent incident with Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, after the game, he gave a not so pleasant interview, which lead to a social media explosion of racial slurs against him because he was interviewed while his mindset was still in game time instead of his regular mindset.”
Hubbard thinks the Summit this year should teach students how to deal with racism.
“Brophy should teach us students how to deal with racism, not only as we are afflicted by it, but how we ourselves are racist and how we can deal with it. Everyone is truly a bit racist, even those of color,” Hubbard said.
Hubbard said he does not believe racism will ever end.
“The thing about racism is that we cannot end it. No matter what, there will always be a group of people that are discriminated against. It is also passed down generationally and taught within individual households, so it would be pretty much impossible to completely eradicate racism,” he said.
