I was hesitant to write this column. So much has been said in the past weeks about racism and discrimination that I felt anything I could add would just be overkill. However, now I feel that I was wrong. Clearly, the issues at hand are greater and more embedded in our community than I imagined, and I cannot in good conscious sit back and say nothing. If people like what I have to say, that's great. That means there are other reasonable minds on this campus and that we have a chance at overcoming these issues. If people hate what I have to say, and wish people like me would be quiet, so be it. But at least I will have driven them to care. If what I have to say makes you mad, makes you angry, makes you feel something, then I believe I have succeeded at some level. Having people care about racism is infinitely better than apathy, regardless of how they feel. The first step in our recovery process is passion. People must truly feel that these issues impact them and their existence, or no one will work to change our status quo. Realize that our campus is small enough that what impacts some impacts all. You can no longer sit in your room with the shades down and pretend what's happening doesn't matter. Know that it does have meaning.

In tandem with caring about the issues, it is essential that we acknowledge a problem exists. One of the reasons racism has festered here is because people tell themselves and others that there is no problem. Wake up, Brandeis! Just as the first step in ridding oneself of an addiction is to acknowledge that there is one, we must, as a community, give some credence to the idea that our school is flawed. We are not the utopian campus we claim to be. Because we have lied to ourselves for so long, suppressing issues of discrimination, we have made the problems worse.

A person's natural reaction when confronted with issues of racism is to immediately move to the defensive. "I'm not racist," they claim, or "I would never say anything racist." And I'm pleased to say that I believe more than 99 percent of Brandeis feels that way. But just because you don't intend to hurt another person doesn't mean you haven't. I have watched it occur on more than one occasion, so I cannot accept people telling me the contrary. Brandeis students make racist comments and commit racist acts. The fact that they aren't out with the intention to do harm is irrelevant. People are hurt daily by others' actions, and though the majority of these actions stem from naivete and ignorance, they remain inexcusable.

We are all here to get an education. For some, that means they are here solely to read books, take tests and complete projects. If this is your education, then you are paying far too much. Brandeis offers every one of us so much more, it pains me to think of all that is wasted. Even if you lived in a bubble all your life, you no longer can hide behind your ignorance. Get up, get out, and learn about the world. It doesn't stop turning because you close your eyes.

We have a responsibility to expand the campaign of tolerance that our school promotes. We will not survive merely tolerating one another. Tolerance will only perpetuate the issues that exist. Tolerance is stagnation. It is closing the door to dialogue, to enlightenment, to a stronger community. We don't need tolerance, or acceptance, or any other noun that allows us to continue to not talk to our peers. We need a policy of open arms, of exchange and of growth. I call for a policy of "expression".

Every member of the Brandeis community, whether it be the offended, the offender, or the uninvolved, should take this policy to heart. Those who have never tried to breach the gap that separates "us" from "them" need to take this opportunity and begin. At the same time, those who have been hurt must realize that this is a first for many and that patient education is what will make this work. Without mutual respect and without give-and-take, I see no way to repair our fractured community.

I am not so naave as to think that our messes will be cleaned up overnight. Quite the opposite, I'm disheartened by the fact that I cannot be positive I will see such issues resolved before I graduate. The people who will work the hardest to effect change will not likely taste the fruits of their labors.

But a lack of immediate success does not mean we should not persevere. Only by taking action now will we be able to guarantee that future students at Brandeis never feel excluded, hated or alone. The band-aid's been torn off; the sore has been ripped open. I beg you to help ease the pain. Help Brandeis heal.