A PERSPECTIVE FROM A MINORITY OF CLU

Being adopted and a minority, I have always felt different. I was raised in Lake Oswego, Oregon, where there is little to no diversity. Growing up in a white dominate city made me believe that having blonde hair, blue eyes and white skin was the cookie cutter definition of perfection. Unlike most of my high school classmates, I decided to go to a college out of state. After several years of sticking out due to my skin color and appearance, I wanted to surround myself with new faces and an environment I did not grow up in.

My college counselor and I decided that California Lutheran University was a good fit for me because it fit all my requirements for a school: warm location, relatively small student body and a great business program. CLU caught my attention because it preaches diversity and takes pride in being a National Hispanic-Serving Institution. Coming to this school, I already felt somewhat comfortable and confident. It did not occur to me that the city the university is located in would share many similarities with Lake Oswego, both affluent communities that are white dominate. Surprisingly, living in Thousand Oaks did not bother me and instead reminded me of being back home. The student body and faculty at CLU is somewhat a different story. My freshman year was great, I liked the fact that there was more diversity than any of the schools I had attended in Oregon. It was nice seeing people of color and not feeling like the only one who did not fit in due to my skin.

This year as a sophomore, many things have changed. I have a completely different perspective of CLU and have grown and matured within the one year of living in California. CLU is not as diverse as the university preaches it to be, even though within the one year of being here the diversity has gotten better. Regarding how campus safety has treated me has sadly changed. I have had multiple encounters with campus safety and have been targeted and singled out by one of the campus safety employees. I never had a problem with campus safety my freshman year, but this year was different. Campus safety has an excellent reputation at CLU. The employees are known to be welcoming, friendly and always helpful. Many students get along with the employees as they have had nothing but pleasant encounters. I used to think very highly of campus safety, but that changed starting this year.

My first encounter with campus safety happened due to an incident during September. I was approached by one of the employees who turned out to be a new hire and used to be a traffic cop. During this encounter he singled me out and treated me differently than the two other people I was with, one being my roommate and the other a close friend. We were in my friend's car listening to music relatively loud at night as we were interrupted by a campus safety employee. As a result, my car and dorm were searched. When we got approached by the campus safety employee, he flashed a light in my face and at my friend who was in the driver's seat. My roommate was sitting in the middle back seat and was ignored the whole time. I asked the employee what my rights are as a student and why he has the right to search my car. He rudely responded, “Uh because you are a student so therefore I have a right to do what I want.” I was taken aback as he did not care to explain my rights and abused his authority and power.

After this event happened, I did not take any further action against the employee until I had a second encounter with him. During this second encounter, I was walking along the sidewalk and crossed the street, not using a designated crosswalk. Many students and faculty do not use the designated crosswalks as they are not everywhere. The same campus safety employee spotted me not using a designated crosswalk and decided to stop driving and yell out the window “Do not cross the street unless you use a designated crosswalk!” as my peers were crossing the street not using a designated crosswalk. This second encounter did not sit well with me as I felt embarrassed about the situation. I started to feel ashamed of who I was and did not know why I was being singled out.

I decided to take matters into my own hands and contacted David Hilke, director of campus safety, and expressed my concerns about the campus safety employee. David responded within two hours saying, “Please provide me with some details of your complaint. I will be in the office on Monday and would welcome an opportunity to speak with you.” A few days later I called him and explained the two encounters. He let me know that he was extremely sorry and was understanding of how I felt. He said he was going to take of the problem and that I would not have any more encounters with the employee.

Unfortunately, I had a third encounter with the employee, and that was the moment I looked down upon CLU and did not feel welcome anymore. The third encounter happened during the evening when I got back from the grocery store and was unpacking the groceries from my car. I left my car light on since I needed to make a second trip to get all the groceries and my car was parked in front of my dorm, South hall. As I was walking toward my car from my dorm, I saw a campus safety truck and two employees standing in front of my car shining a flashlight in my face. I quickly realized it was the same employee and felt voiceless. I calmly explained why the light was on in my car and then contacted Caitlin Hodges, the senior coordinator for residence life and student conduct. She was already informed of my past situations with the employee and told me to stay calm and that they were handling the situation. As time has gone by from these events, I have not had any more negative encounters. After having multiple encounters with this campus safety employee, I felt strongly discriminated against even though I couldn’t prove that from my encounters. Fortunately, I’ve been left alone.

All the encounters I had with campus safety this year has changed my perspective of CLU as a student. There have been many times where I thought: What if I were white? Would I have been treated differently? How I was treated this year has made me feel ashamed of my race -- a feeling I have not felt since middle school and high school. Being Asian and raised by white parents have always made me unique and different. I used to think different was bad and wanted to be like everyone else. Now I am comfortable in my skin and am not afraid to speak up. CLU should be a safe zone and a place that I can call home, especially since I have lived on campus for two years now. I know that a majority of the campus safety employees do a fantastic job and have a good reputation. I hope that if I have an encounter with another campus safety employee, they leave me with a smile on my face.