Racism at Emory?

Students marched in protest against Dr. Wagner on Friday.

         We may not want to admit it, but we still live in a country where racist terms are part of some people's everyday vocabulary. Will this ever come to a complete end? Probably not for a while. "Racial wounds" are being "opened" at the highly renowned university, Emory, in Atlanta, Georgia. Yesterday, the New York Times published an article about the President of Emory, James W. Wagner, and a column he wrote for the current issue of the university magazine. In the column, Wagner, "praised the 1787 three-fifths compromise, which allowed each slave to be counted as three-fifths of a person in determining how much Congressional power the Southern states would have, as an example of how polarized people could find common ground." This is not a first time event that Emory has been noted to target different minority groups at the University. In September, Emory announced "sweeping cuts." Some say these budget changes also target programs popular to racial minorities. Minorities at Emory make up 31 percent of its student body.
          John Emory, for which the school is named, was a Methodist bishop who owned slaves 177 years ago. Generations later, many of Emory's leaders favored a segregated school system, but in 1962 the school decided to sue the state of Georgia in order to allow the enrollment of African American students. Despite the fact that Emory took action to enroll a more diverse student population, Emory continues to demonstrate conflicting sides of its personality, such as the flying of a Confederate flag outside of a fraternity. On the other hand, the University is also home to many African-American artifacts and literature including "what is thought to be the nation's most complete database documenting American slave trade routes." Although Wagner has "reopened the wound," he did apologize for his clumsiness and insensitivity.  Our generation has grown up in a time when we have to learn what is and is not right to say about other people. Will there ever be a time when it is just natural to accept?