"Racism exists, but white privilege does not." This argument makes no sense! Think about it. Racism can be defined as a system of disadvantages based on race. Logically, those who do not have to deal with this disadvantage have an advantage, a privilege, if you will. Racism does not exist without white privilege — the two go hand in hand.

As a white student on this campus, it would be easy to go about my life without facing racism or white privilege. I can easily surround myself with people who share my light skin color. I don't have to worry about being followed around in stores or being tailed by a cop car if I decide to go jogging at night. I don't have to deal with people always asking me my SAT scores, always having to prove that I earned my place at this school. I can show up to class all disheveled and decked out in sweatpants, and not have it be attributed to the color of my skin. True, nearly everyone has been discriminated against for some reason or another. I was a female engineer. I am also not a Christian. However, going to Black Caucus meetings and programs and hearing fellow students talk about things that happen to them on a regular basis, I can say that my isolated experiences with discrimination do not even compare.

I know that limiting the issue to simply black and white may seem to be non-inclusive, but studying this extreme helps me to recognize all forms of discrimination, whether it be against women, Latinos, Asians, homosexuals, fraternities, sororities or people with physical disabilities. Remember that people who are aware of their prejudices are well on the road to eliminating them.