'I AM ANTIRACIST' campaign features action plans, 'tips and tricks' to 'decolonize' campus life

Central Michigan University (CMU) is offering students “tips and tricks” to be “antiracist” this semester. 

Last month, the university stated that it is extending its “I AM ANTIRACIST” campaign to spring 2022 with a series of seven events that include workshops and panels. 

I AM ANTIRACIST, a project of the Office of Multicultural Academic Student Services (MASS), is a “schoolwide campaign designated to promote anti-racism on campus,” according to the initiative’s 2021 video debut on YouTube. 

Referencing the student interviews in the video, CMU sophomore Evan Gibeau told Campus Reform that despite “good intention” the messaging “bothered” him. 

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“I don’t agree with the equity argument, because minorities literally get preferential treatment when it comes to admission and scholarships,” Gibeau said.

Mary Famutimi, a junior who is also Nigerian, said she wanted CMU to “focus more on diversity within faculty” and other leadership positions, as opposed to just students. 

”Increasing the diversity of faculty is fine,” Gibeau told Campus Reform. “But prioritizing racial diversity over experience and qualifications does not help students, it hurts them. Introducing a policy that uplifts one group of students is fundamentally unequal.” 

I AM ANTIRACIST runs Jan. 25 through Apr. 26. A different university office will run each event. 

The offices participating in I AM ANTIRACIST include Admissions and Orientation, Office of Residence Life, Institute for Transformative Dialogue, and the Office of Diversity and Education. 

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The Volunteer Center’s event will have students “talk about centering our volunteerism away from white savior ship [sic],” as MASS Interim Assistant Director Wade Tomson told Central Michigan Life. 

As of this writing, each event promises to feature discussions in which “faculty and staff frame their perspective through an antiracist and decolonized lens.”

”The office will address campus life through their specialty area and provide those in attendance with take-aways to put into action,” the event descriptions add.

Campus Reform reached out to Central Michigan University for comment; this article will be updated accordingly.