We are writing on behalf of the White Women Confronting Racism group in response to the comments written in reaction to the None of the Above campaign posted on the Daily Gazette. A number of these comments are oppressive — they are dismissive of the inequities and racism that members of Swarthmore’s community experience. In addition, the tone of the postings exposes a general ignorance about the historical and structural context of oppression and marginalization.

At Swarthmore, there seems to be a fantasy that we exist as one unified community, but this belief fails to acknowledge how people with privileged identities often define our community in ways that marginalize and silence other students and mask racism. The antagonistic reaction to the elections process disrupts this fantasy by revealing wider campus antagonism towards IC/BCC communities. Throughout this election season we have seen how IC/BCC communities have been tokenized as a political tool; it is not the role or obligation of marginalized communities to educate the campus at large about their experiences. There needs to be an ongoing commitment to centering the needs of marginalized communities throughout the entire year, not just during elections.

We recognize that we are white women speaking from a position of privilege and we speak from our own experiences and understanding of the situation. We are interested in continuing this conversation, and we would like to help organize an open forum after the elections to discuss the issues that were brought up during this campaign process. We welcome any comments, concerns or questions regarding the views that we have put forward.

Hilary Pomerantz ’12
Leah Rethy ’10
Erika Slaymaker ’11
On behalf of White Women Confronting Racism