December 18, 2015 - 08:22
Breaking the Mold at BMC
When my ESem class and I took the Black at Bryn Mawr tour earlier this semester, I couldn’t help but think to myself: “well, what about the first Latinx student on campus? What was their story?” I immediately turned to my right and asked my classmate, Paola Salas, if she had ever wondered that, too. We then went on to speak about how even though we are people of color, since we are neither black nor white, we are often not talked about or feel invisible when it comes to the black-and-white racial binary. Months later, when it was time to choose a topic for our weeks-long ESem project, we both coincidentally decided to focus on Latinividad on Bryn Mawr’s campus. We started our project with completely different expectations than those that were met towards its final stages, but we found comfort in realizing that it has been one of the most rewarding experiences that we have had, both emotional and academic.
I felt personally connected to our mission for several reasons; I am a first-generation Latina on campus, I come from a family of undocumented parents and a low-income household in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood. Since my arrival to Bryn Mawr, I have grown even more self-conscious of my family’s economic and undocumented status, by darker skin, and of how even though I am Latinx, I haven’t seen a great variety of Latinx students at events that are meant for them.
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