Papers Stuffed in P. O. Boxes Rekindle Race Talks

On Monday morning, students walked into P.O. to find stacks of papers titled “Black People Killed by Police in 2015.” The front of the papers listed the names and ages of around a dozen deceased black people, while the back had two bolded lines: “Total—Unknown” and “#getoutofyourexeterbubble”.

The occurrence surprised many students and drew mixed responses from the student body and faculty. When contacted, the two students responsible for the papers wished to remain anonymous.

“Unfortunately, the way that [the distribution] was done may have caused people to simply disregard the sheet of paper, which definitely shouldn’t happen.”

“There is definitely a range of emotions and opinions surrounding our act, but there is also a lot of talk between students who are and aren’t of color on campus and that was one of our main goals,” one of the anonymous students said.

After witnessing the ALES die-in, the duo felt the need for action. The die-in took place during winter term and was a protest against the unfair treatment of Michael Brown and other black people around the country. “After this protest, we saw that even with this public display people didn’t see these murders as a serious problem,” the other anonymous student said. “We also noticed how quickly people had forgotten about the events that took place less than a month before. We needed to find a way to get people to recognize and realize that police brutality and racism are serious problems in America.”

“These are [racial] issues that are not going to go away, and people need to know that,” the student continued. “We cannot just lie on the ground once and think that everything is fine. It isn’t. It’s a constant struggle that everyone needs to be aware of and proactive about.”

The inspiration for “#getoutofyourexeterbubble” stemmed from the shooting of Walter Scott on Apr. 5. “No one except for some people of color on campus were talking about it,” one of the anonymous students said. “It made us realize how dangerous being at Exeter is.”

“We start to lose touch with so many current events outside of this community that we lose sight of what is real. This is real. By saying ‘getoutofyourexeterbubble’ we want people to personally go out of their way to find and educate themselves on the injustices that affect their fellow classmates everyday. We need to make a change and though it may start with a discussion, it doesn’t end at the Harkness table,” the student said.

Although many students and faculty appreciated the motivation behind the papers, some held doubts about the anonymity. Others found it for the better.

Dean of Multicultural Affairs Rosanna Salcedo posed a question about the disseminators of the list: Why are they choosing to stay anonymous?

“I hope they feel safe revealing themselves. If they do not feel safe, then I think we have a problem on our campus. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter who created the list. If the purpose was to raise awareness, it accomplished that objective, at least for me,” Salcedo said.

Reverend Robert Thompson urged caution and did not make assumptions. “Anonymity is most important for the person being anonymous,” he said. “I cannot comment in this case, because I do not know who the sender is, or what her/his motives or concerns are.”

However, Thompson did consider one side of the argument. “If [the student body] knew who did it, [the distributors of the lists] would be in a position to discuss the situation more clearly, and to provide needed context to this action that is otherwise confusing or baffling,” he said.

Taking the thought a little further, lower Nada Zohayr thought the anonymity was necessary. “[The anonymity] is important because the purpose of the names is not to make you think about the people who compiled and distributed the list; it’s about the people themselves that are on that list,” Zohayr said.

Overall, senior Katie Casado appreciated that the students showed passion for activism on campus. “A lot of people think that unless there's major news coverage of something, the discussion is over,” she said. “But this person, or these people, are reminding Exeter that this issue of police brutality and the disregard for black and brown lives in America is not going away.”

Upper Cesar Zamudio felt that the duo had accomplished their goal of raising students’ awareness. “[The list of names] reminds people of these systematic injustices that black and brown people face in America. It is not fair. When people say, ‘why aren’t white people included?’ it makes me mad because they’re missing the point of the letters.”

“White people in America do not have to fear police killing them simply because they are white. Black and brown people are not able to say the same, so I found it important that this happened,” Zamudio said.

Thompson built off of Zamudio’s idea of awareness. “On the upside, there is the realized opportunity that receivers [of the list] are now aware that this is a problem for people here and not simply media hype,” Thompson said.

Senior Joey Bolden witnessed both support and disapproval. In one scenario, one of her friends not of color recognized the importance of the lists. In another scenario, however, Bolden heard “negative things from students of color who thought that what was done was poorly planned and reckless.”

Because of the papers, senior Tommy Miller found that racial conversations on campus were picked up again. He thought it was reminiscent of the debate surrounding the Michael Brown case, but on a smaller scale.

The distribution of the lists did not come without its downsides. For one, Thompson thought that students may “resent the intrusion, find it confusing or discredit it because of the context and lack of context.” He did, however, think that “doing something is more satisfying than doing nothing”.

Miller had similar thoughts. “Unfortunately, the way that [the distribution] was done may have caused people to simply disregard the sheet of paper, which definitely shouldn’t happen,” he said.

“Discussions shouldn’t have to be initiated every time a video is posted on the internet,” Miller continued. “It is clear through these videos that there is a problem in this country and that something should be done about it, but the question is ‘what?’ And that is where people should carry on.”