Dear UNC’s “For All Kind,”
I used to believe you were real. That the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) was for all kind. After all, I’m here, my parents and grandparents went here, and now my sister is applying to go here. From my privileged position in society it appeared to be true. UNC was for all kind: young, old, man, woman, humanities majors, and science majors.
But, what about all races, all sexualities, all socioeconomic classes, all abilities? Are you for them? Can you honestly show that you are for ALL kind?
Consider if I were to ask you if you are for all races. You would likely begin your affirmative response with the proud percentage of students of color, >30%. Those are just numbers though. Numbers don’t tell us if you are for all kind. Numbers don’t show the multitude of ways you continue to support SOME but not ALL. Instead, numbers are like words; they simply allow you to hide from the scrutiny of your actions.
Despite your attempts at hiding behind the safety of numbers and uplifting emails, we see you… the real you. To be “For All Kind” is not to force people of color to build and maintain an educational institution solely for white people to profit from. To be “For All Kind” is not to limit access to those who can use stairs. To be “For All Kind” is not to honor and remember the past through objects that glorify oppression. To be “For All Kind” is not to ignore or deny issues of sexual assault on your campus.
Rather, to be “For All Kind” is to welcome and respect every individual on your campus. It means listening to every person’s needs and concerns and appropriately responding to them, not merely creating a module or a committee to discuss the concern. It means recognizing that you are not perfect and that you can never take back your past nor present wrong doings. You can, however, make way for a promising future in which you are, honestly, for all kind.
I used to believe you were real. I think you can be if you want, but it takes continuous effort and self-reflection. That self-reflection may result in some ugly realizations. What you do with those realizations will determine whether you truly are “For All Kind”.
Yours truly,
Katelyn Rhyne
One Response to “For All Kind?”
Martinette Horner
Your letter took me back to the moment I drove into campus, passed the union or some other building and saw that For All Kind banner for the first time. I had a very similar, visceral reaction and wondered, “But are you for all kind? All kind of…what?”