Jeff Budney's recent column shed some light on a touchy race subject here at Penn State. As a conservative, I, too, was offended by Parris Sandlin's column. Budney had some powerful lines — most notably his statement about equal rights for all. As he pointed out, we do not believe in false solutions that continue to subjugate selected minorities.

This column was on my mind as I entered the bus Tuesday night to find a black woman wearing a pin that said "I love being black." This can be interpreted any number of ways, all of which are in some way offensive to every other racial group. But the fact remains — this is the most blatantly separatist statement I have seen or heard on campus this year. Sadly, our sickeningly hyphenated society praises this sort of statement. It is a shame that there are blacks and whites who live their lives with something to prove because of their skin color. When somebody makes an issue of skin color, it is almost impossible to then avoid it.

I don't understand why so many people want to belong to some sort of hyphenated minority group. Being born in the United States, I am proud to say I am an American. I am proud to identify myself solely as a citizen of the most powerful nation in the world. We all live in America. We are all Americans, first, last and foremost.