February is African-American history month and Ferris State University students and staff members are putting on events to acknowledge the achievements of Black Americans throughout history. These include discussions on the Black urban rebellions of the 1960’s, the story of the Greensboro four and a look into the social impact of Idlewild.
As a campus community made of students from different ethnic backgrounds and beliefs, college should be an opportunity to learn racial acceptance and become educated on the differences of others.
Whether it’s a five-star presentation of Zach Wahl’s life with the LGBTQ community, the Jim Crow museum, or a room of FSU students learning calligraphy for Chinese New Year, our campus works to expand our cultural experiences.
Therefore it’s important as students that we allow ourselves to be willing to go beyond our cultural boundaries and take on a new way of thinking.
Let these events be an opportunity for us to acquire the knowledge to accept and challenge our previous principles. Minority registered student organizations and offices dedicated to student diversity are resources giving us a look at a world much larger than our classroom. By acknowledging and accepting the differences of others, we in turn learn to fix our own flaws and misconceptions.
Our success beyond college is dependant on our ability to coexist in a society of different ethnicities, beliefs and sexual orientations, and how we choose to familiarize ourselves with these differences. This shapes the attitude that will support us much further than our grades and other scholastic achievements.
Though as college students we feel the need to lock ourselves in our rooms and study, it’s the experiences outside our door that dictate who we are and how far we can go. Our knowledge is most useful when it allows our thoughts, conversations and actions to better those around us.