Professor Alexander-Grant, who is usually neutral, offering perspective on both sides of a debate, stands up with an expression on her face I’ve never seen. It’s a mix of anger that she is trying hard not to show, disappointment, and befuddlement, another Comp Lit word. I’m very curious to see how she responds, since she is also white. I expect her to soothe his angst and massage his very wrong opinions, which is a phenomenon I see repeatedly in contentious debates: the rush to alleviate the suffering of white students.

I have watched so many of my professors (all white) do this, which is why I don’t trust any of them. Not only do they placate white students, but I know they can’t see my true potential and don’t really believe in me like Professor Cartwright. I can tell they don’t see a student of promise, but instead a stereotype—another one of the many students of color they’ve known who have dropped out. They can’t imagine what pushes anyone to leave school: not having financial or emotional support from your family, not understanding this white new world with its different social cues and customs, and most importantly, the exhaustion of constantly being underestimated and questioned even though you know you’ve had to work twice as hard to get there. These professors don’t comprehend how much worse everything can be. So I sit back and wait to be disappointed by Professor Alexander-Grant’s response.

“Stephen,” she begins, “your argument is based on two deeply incorrect assumptions. First, that we live in a perfect world absent of influence from past injustices. Let’s start with that one. Do you really think the past does not ripple into the present like a wave across the ocean? Do you believe we exist in a sort of atemporal vacuum? Society is an aggregate”—I quickly consult the dictionary—“of various living realities. The past, the elements that went into making the systems of those societies, are alive today and must be considered in the rendering of equality and justice. This is really a conversation about atonement. We have a problem with not wanting to take responsibility for past grievances in this country. It’s called social amnesia.