Parents' actions betray SU ideals

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Posted: 9/28/05

The most important thing learned during freshman year in college isn't how to take better notes in a lecture, but how to live with new types of people. It is a shame that several Syracuse University parents attempted to deny their children this chance over the summer on the basis of the roommate's race or sexual orientation. But SU housing officials' responses proved the university really does want the campus to be "No Place for Hate."

About 20 new Syracuse University parents demanded roommate switches for their children before they even got to campus, thanks to the sleuthing work of facebook.com. Not only did the parents request SU to give their children roommates of their own race or sexual orientation, some even threatened to withdraw from the university completely.

Race and sexual orientation is an appalling reason for a request for a new roommate. There are plenty of legitimate reasons for students to request room changes: a roommate who keeps an ax in the closet or throws raucous parties every Tuesday night, for example. But black, gay, white, Asian, straight ... these identities are the world's realities. The 20 students whose parents requested the room change will probably have to sit next to a lesbian or a Latino student in class sometime in the next four years - will parents call a professor to protest that?

Living with someone outside your comfort zone is quite often part of the freshman experience at a university where nearly 25 percent of the population is comprised of students of color. There's no sense in sending a child away to a university like Syracuse with the intention of keeping him or her confined to biases already known.

Housing officials protected SU students in this situation in exactly the way it has pledged to do. Housing officials turned down these ignorant parents flatly. Gillian Budman, the assistant director for North Campus housing, even said, "Those aren't the types of students that we want to be part of our bigger picture here." This straightforward attitude turns "No Place for Hate" into more than just a slogan, but a statement.