Dear Readers,

After the horrendous, anti-black, anti-trans email was sent out last week, The Catalyst staff decided this newspaper issue should focus on race. When I initially assigned my sports writers their articles, I urged them to have their articles come back to topics of race and discrimination. However, within the sports section, as an extremely white school with extremely white sports teams, I realized that forcing this topic of race into these articles would be doing the conversation an injustice. So, while you read these articles, keep in the forefront of your mind that much more important things are occurring on our campus right now.

There is an immense privilege that comes with moving on from events like this—a privilege that many do not have. This past Wednesday evening, there was a letter writing event in Sacred Grounds, where students gathered to write to our president, the deans and to their fellow students. While over 150 people RSVPed to attend on facebook, the turnout was a mere 20 to 30 students. Within a week of this email turning worlds upside down, many students have already forgotten how important their participation is.

So, please, speak up and use your privilege. Call out your teachers if they say something inappropriate in class, and call out your white friends if they sing the N-word while listening to music. You can write to our president or to any of our deans and voice your feelings, demand change, request action.

Our sports teams are still competing and trying to proudly represent our school, but unless our predominantly white, upperclass student body starts exercising their privileged voices to support minority voices, what kind of school are our sports teams really representing?

Best,

Samantha Gilbert

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Samantha Gilbert

Samantha is a senior film and media major, feminist and gender studies minor and also a sprinter on CCs track and field team. She fell in love with journalism in highschool and worked as the editor in chief of her high school paper, then wrote for the sports section for 3 years before becoming sports editor this year. In her free time, Samantha loves cooking, creating and connecting. Traveling the world, working on a documentary crew, and constantly striving for holistic health and wellness are things that motivate her everyday. She is inspired by the power of written words, and is currently very curious about the political sports world, as today sports are a platform for political activism more so than ever before.

Latest posts by Samantha Gilbert (see all)

• Letter From the Editor – Apr 3, 2018
• A Letter From the Editor – Feb 26, 2018
• The Privilege of Moving on: Racism Still Alive in Sports – Nov 9, 2017