Padilla, a student at Evergreen College in Olympia, Washington, writes about her experience with activist groups on campus.
...the divisiveness that I have seen on campus has been one of my most disappointing experiences in college.
Many campus groups claim to be in solidarity with other organizations and struggles, but in reality they act more like exclusive social clubs. They think we should stick within our own circle of the persecuted — Chicanos with Chicanos, Blacks with Blacks, etc. This makes no sense to me. You can’t truly be in solidarity if you intentionally isolate yourself. Many students of color care about radically changing things. We all need to seek out each other and organize in one big circle. That’s often just not happening.