Given that we are nestled in central Arkansas, where 61.6% of the population is white individuals alone, the University of Central Arkansas (UCA) is one of the most diverse universities in the state.

UCA, a predominantly white institution, has a student population of 67.5% white, 15.2% Black and 6.12% Hispanic or Latino, with 7.15% accounting for biracial, Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian individuals. 

These are significantly higher numbers than those at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, one of Arkansas’s largest college campuses. 

There, nearly 80% of all students are white, with only about 23% of students of color being represented in the population.

Still, when students of color are traipsing along campus, an entirely different narrative unfolds. Some students encounter a lack of racial and ethnic diversity when walking to class — when they see a crowd before them, everyone in it is white. 

Most, if not all of us, live in it — being the only student of color in your class, your club or your job. 

Most of us have seen the organizations dominated by white men and white women; you know, the ones who proclaim to want all students, while using only one person of color to prove that. The thing that proves to be the most unnerving? The fact that some of them seem to have a thing for dressing in nothing but white. 

As a person of color navigating a predominantly white campus, seeing all this can become incredibly discouraging and honestly, unsettling. 

Walking around a PWI as a student of color is almost like living in a scary movie – both seem to have their token POCs — except here, there’s no psycho with a chainsaw out to get you. 

So, to all the students of color here at UCA, in case no one has told you or in case you are unsure: you do belong here. You matter, and so does your voice.

It is important that you know that. The underrepresentation of people of color has many negative effects, many of which we are living in right now. 

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), a nonprofit organization national association in the United States, says just one of these effects is the hindrance in developing identity — when you are surrounded by one type of people, you mold your identity to fit with theirs, a classic case of survival. No one wants to stick out. 

It can also lead to poor self-esteem, perception of self-worth and negative stereotyping. A multitude of negative stereotypes are out there about minority groups, especially people of color, and when people fail to see positive representations of these groups, they adopt them as truth. Unfortunately, the same applies to the group being oppressed. Although unexpected, underrepresentation also leads to the formation of unrealistic expectations. Not seeing people who look like you in the places you want to be often places limitations on your scope – on what you believe you – and other people who look like you – are capable of. 

The summation of these effects is oppression, both by society and by the self. When we feel we are sticking out like a sore thumb, we attempt to blend in, either by making it so our voices sound like those around us or turning them off completely. 

Fortunately, we do not always have to stick out. There are environments dispersed throughout the UCA campus that can serve as safe havens and places of sanctuary for students of color. Some of these include the Minority Mentorship Program, the Latino Student Association, Students for the Propagation of Black Culture, Women of Excellence and Project X — organizations geared specifically toward empowering, uplifting and providing support to students of color.

To my students of color: lift your heads up and raise your voices, not only so you can be seen, but so you can be found, too.