BY MEAGAN HU and LINDA HUANG

In print | Published April 13, 2006

Dear IC Big Room,

It’s like you’re Star Magazine or some other gossip source that seems to soak up all the juicy news. You get to listen in on so many campus group meetings, even the ones of those closed groups, you get to witness people relax on your plush couches while secretly watching “The Real World/Road Rules Challenge” on TV, and you even get to see people doing things that, well, no one should be doing anywhere except their own rooms. Not that we’re judging. … But what’s so amazing about you, we’ve recently come to realize, is that you rarely let anyone find out about it! You see so many interesting things happen at this school, and yet you manage to keep them bottled up inside you. Mad props, IC Big Room.

We first had this revelation after thinking back to this meeting we had in you two weeks ago. In our minds, that gathering was quite a revolutionary occurrence. I mean, people were throwing out words like “protest” and “president’s office” and “hunger strike” (OK, taken out of context, but come on. Not eating?), and yet more than a week has gone by without much ado about anything.

But, you know, it’s sort of a pity that you are so good at hiding things. I mean, sure, you provide a great space for people to discuss sensitive issues, but when it comes down to it, problems like the ones we heard about at that meeting aren’t going to get resolved if they only stay inside you. Because how will the greater campus know that there is a strong and passionate part of the community that is quite upset that Professors Ezawa and Machuca cannot stay at Swarthmore? How will the campus-at-large know that there are many people deeply unsatisfied with the fact that there is a dearth of ethnic study courses offered at Swarthmore? Of course, given our size, it’s not surprising that our course offering isn’t as diverse as Penn’s. But how can the school be willing to brag that 52 percent of the high school seniors accepted into the class of 2010 were people of color, and at the same time be unwilling to keep professors and courses that address topics that may directly relate to that 52 percent?

Whoa, OK OK, haha. You’re probably like, “Chill out, please.” I mean, don’t get us wrong. We have nothing against you. In fact, we sort of envy you. If you were able to tell everyone on campus the things you’ve seen, you’d be like, the most popular quasi-gothic building on campus. OK, so maybe you’re the only quasi-gothic building on campus. But you get our meaning. And even if you could tell everyone what you saw during that meeting we attended, do you think anyone would believe you? I mean, when the campus thinks of what cultural groups do, don’t they think, like, hosting parties in Paces and Wharton D basement, catering dinners in Upper Tarble, organizing cultural shows featuring ethnic dancing, and like, sponsoring film festivals and prominent speakers? I mean who doesn’t love workin’ it to M.I.A. on a Friday night and munchin’ on free gourmet samosas? But is that all these groups are known for on campus? No one expects these people to actually speak their minds directly, do they?

And what if they did? What if the school knew that these people are thinking about organizing sit-ins and marches and written statements to try to get more ethnic studies classes at our school and to try to save Ezawa’s and Machuca’s positions on campus? Do you think they’d be surprised if you told them?

The wider campus might see a bunch of dissatisfied and grumbling minority students getting together every week to vent. But do you think that the school would raise an eyebrow if you told them that these same grumbling students were actually going to do something about what’s bugging them? Because right now, that’s what they’re doing. Alas, IC Big Room, the sentiments divulged in you this past week will no longer remain concealed for long. But don’t worry. We won’t say who told. We’re good at keeping secrets.

XOXO,

Meagan and Linda

Linda and Meagan are sophomores. You can reach them at lhuang1@swarthmore.edu and mhu1@swarthmore.edu.

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