Advocacy

Texas has its gubernatorial election this November. As a Texan and Virginian, I keep talking about the election. No one seems to care about the results. Texas can’t– or won’t– change. Why does it matter?

This article was written during the Spring 2022 semester, but was never published.

At the University of Virginia, the Instagram account @barstooluva has amassed thousands of followers.

 An Exploration of the True Intentions Behind UVA’s Division for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

“Maybe I’m biased because I don’t like him.”

When I listen to the radio, I can’t help but sing along, even when I know I shouldn’t—like when I hear a catchy tune littered with sexualized imagery and glittering misogyny.

“Why do you think you still have to stay there, after everything that’s happened?” my best friend whispers, her concern ringing out in this childhood bedroom. Nestling my head into the crook of my arm, I struggle to open my eyes, puffy and bloodshot from the evening. The phone rests dangerously warm against my cheek, still damp from this hours-long teary conversation. The question lingers, between her waiting, static, and the thick silence of doubt crawling its way into my twin bed. It creeps in like clockwork. I cling to its cold silhouette.

I wanted to write about self-care, and how my routine has changed since this pandemic. Yet once again I was dragged back to reality and remembered the university I attend. On October 15th the SABLE Society placed ‘White Supremacists’ and ‘Slave Owner’ stickers on the following signs across campus: Maury Hall, Garrett Hall, Brown College, Madison Hall, Curry School, and Minor Hall. The sticker ‘Eugenicist’ was placed on the Alderman Library sign. The dilemma of being a Black student at UVA is that we have to go through stress, depression, and oppression all at the same time.

Before anyone gets mad, the answer is a resounding NO. You simply cannot; well, at least, not if you care about someone other than yourself (I am looking at white people specifically, yeah, you). You see, the issue with separating morals from politics lies in how privileged you are. The more privileged you are, the more you can separate the two, because the repercussions decrease the higher up the ladder you go.

I woke up this past Tuesday morning to a too-bright-too-close sky; pale-yellow, opaque, equally begging for and denying sun break. No distinguishable clouds--just a blanket of sick-yellow--cloaking my apartment’s view of mountains, winding streets, train tracks, and industrial eyesores.

Grotesque and beautiful and speaking, the sky bore a message, and I was its awe-struck audience.