Racism at WCU is reason to vote
To the Editor:
As a student of color at Western Carolina University, I was angered and disheartened by the racist videos made by former classmates which recently came to light, but I can’t say I was surprised. As many Black students and students of color know, racism is not something new on our campus.
Now, I hope that these videos and the national news attention that came with them can be the wake-up call our community needs. The truth is that the racist acts of a few students are symptomatic of the widespread and systemic racism plaguing our nation, and we must address it and root it out at all levels of our society — from campus life to local government to our national elected officials.
That’s why I’m serving as a WCU campus fellow with NextGen North Carolina, which is committed to registering and mobilizing young North Carolinians to vote. My generation is calling for an end to the racism and violence that has been so deadly to Black and POC communities, and we’re leading the call by protesting in the street and casting our ballots at the polls. I urge my peers and all readers: don’t let your activism stop at sharing your outrage at a racist video — register to vote and request your mail-in ballot to vote for meaningful change today.
Eli Horne
Cullowhee
