Written by Sam Toumlin
Since launching on Facebook on Sept. 5, Humans of Colorado College has quickly attracted the attention of the Colorado College community. The Facebook page already has over 1,600 likes, and its posts, often exposed to Facebook users outside of the CC student body, attract hundreds and even thousands of likes. Inspired by Humans of New York, Humans of Colorado College posts portraits of CC students, captioned with a quote from the featured student. Sometimes the quotes are brief and humorous, but many students provide very intimate anecdotes and serious discussions of their goals at CC and beyond. Humans of Colorado College has received much praise, and its posts are full of supportive comments.
However, not everyone is happy with the page. Those who take issue with it claim it has a diversity problem. No, not a lack of diversity—too much diversity. Some have complained that the posts thus far have largely featured people of color, and that this is an unrealistic portrayal of the CC student body because CC is mostly white. It is hard to tell just how many CC students disagree with the page, as complaints against it are not out in the open but on forums such as Yik Yak. There have been multiple “yaks” criticizing and even mocking Humans of CC. The criticism was enough to prompt a yak, supposedly from a creator of Humans of CC, that defended the page and explained that it is still evolving. There is no doubt that most of the CC student body supports Humans of CC; a few yaks hardly prove a widespread opinion. However, the critical yaks did receive some up votes (enough to counter what was surely numerous down votes), and Some disapproval of the page is out there. It would be better to make discussion regarding the page more public.
In my own response to this backlash, I first want to say: Humans of CC, keep up the good work. Your posts are entertaining and compelling, and your page is an excellent way for our community to become closer. The interviews you conduct expose us to unique perspectives and voices that are often not heard at CC. Through the page, we get to know our fellow students better – who they are, where they are coming from, what advice they have, etc. Any Facebook page that can accomplish all of that is certainly worthy of support.
So why is the especially diverse portrayal of CC such an issue? Perhaps one possible explanation, as one of my friends put it, is that “people here love to complain about [stuff].” It does sometimes seem that, in the search for ultimate political correctness, and backlash against such political correctness, at least some part of our student body is bound to disagree over just about anything. However, the complaints against Humans of CC do have a point. By creating such a page, Humans of CC has chosen to portray the school – the whole school. As they say in their page description: “Colorado College. This is who we are.” Something we are not as a student body is a majority students of color (students of color have averaged around 25% of recent incoming classes). With the posts on the page thus far, someone with no other knowledge of CC may be led to think otherwise.
But is it really necessary for Humans of CC to closely adhere to the demographics of our student body when presenting CC? I become angered by a narrowed presentation of a student body when it comes from a college admissions office. I take issue when a college, in advertising itself, attempts to appear more diverse than it is. I have received many packets from some of the whitest liberal arts colleges in New England, with photographs only featuring perfectly diverse groups of friends. In attempting to get applicants, colleges should be honest in their portrayal of what their community is really like.
However, Humans of CC is not run by the Office of Admissions. It is not advertising to prospective applicants, saying “look how diverse we are!” and sugarcoating the reality. Though others may view it, Humans of CC is for us, the people who go to school here. It is for us to express ourselves, get to know each other, and form a stronger community. We already know the demographics of our school; they do not need to always be portrayed with the utmost accuracy.
But some have taken their complaints against Humans of CC a step further. I have read and heard protest that the page has placed more value on certain perspectives while ignoring others. I have two responses to this: first of all, if the page can give voice to perspectives, opinions, and experiences that are unique, or shared by few rather than a majority, than it is doing our community a huge service. The page has given voice to those whose voices are often drowned out. Some of the posts have raised awareness for issues at CC, such as racism, that some CC students do not recognize. My second response is that yes, everybody’s stories and perspectives are valuable, and Humans of CC is not implying otherwise. It will undoubtedly feature all sorts of students. If the page continues posting at the rate that they have thus far, they will have spotlighted nearly ten percent of the student population by the end of the school year. Surely, a huge variety of demographics and backgrounds will be featured.
I hope those who disapprove of Humans of Colorado College can broaden their expectation of what a Humans of CC page should be, and appreciate the page’s evolution as well as its positive effect on our community.
Guest Writer
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