Naming of the New Residence Hall
UNT is attempting to make history by potentially naming their newest residence hall after a former DOS worker that passed away in the beginning of the semester. The news first broke, to me, after SGA Student Body President Barrett Cole tweeted a copy of the bill that was signed and endorsed by SGA. The most remarkable part of this is that this will be UNTs first, and only, building named after a person of color.
This decision sparked a lot of controversy because- surprise surprise- our university isn't as inclusive as we'd like to believe. In mid-February, Nancy Kolstki, a spokesperson for the university, resigned for "personal reasons", those being-- she made a complaint that naming the new residence hall after a black man was "reverse racism". Kolstski said that in order for the residence hall to be named in the most unbiased fashion possible, we must look at it through the lens of color and gender blindness. Which, to be honest, is just as stupid as the claim of reverse racism. I'm typically not one to invalidate others experiences, but there is literally no such thing as reverse racism. Reverse racism describes a system in which white people specifically are at a disadvantage. However, no such structures have ever existed and there have almost never been instances in which white people were forced to acquiesce any power to people of color. Rather, white people have always benefited from government systems. This isn't to say that white people don't face adversity, but they've never been structurally oppressed. Typically, people that believe in reverse racism only see racism on an interpersonal level and not from a structural viewpoint.
But, I digress, this is a huge step forward in the right direction for the University of North Texas. We've had plenty of talented students of color come through and change our university's legacy and now that reality is finally being honored by the administration.
This decision sparked a lot of controversy because- surprise surprise- our university isn't as inclusive as we'd like to believe. In mid-February, Nancy Kolstki, a spokesperson for the university, resigned for "personal reasons", those being-- she made a complaint that naming the new residence hall after a black man was "reverse racism". Kolstski said that in order for the residence hall to be named in the most unbiased fashion possible, we must look at it through the lens of color and gender blindness. Which, to be honest, is just as stupid as the claim of reverse racism. I'm typically not one to invalidate others experiences, but there is literally no such thing as reverse racism. Reverse racism describes a system in which white people specifically are at a disadvantage. However, no such structures have ever existed and there have almost never been instances in which white people were forced to acquiesce any power to people of color. Rather, white people have always benefited from government systems. This isn't to say that white people don't face adversity, but they've never been structurally oppressed. Typically, people that believe in reverse racism only see racism on an interpersonal level and not from a structural viewpoint.
But, I digress, this is a huge step forward in the right direction for the University of North Texas. We've had plenty of talented students of color come through and change our university's legacy and now that reality is finally being honored by the administration.
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