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Jesus Is Color-Blind A visit to the campus of Emmanuel Bible College (EBC) on the West Coast is a pleasant experience. Large trees and immaculately manicured lawns wrap the campus in a feeling of calm serenity. Smiling young clean-cut students say “hi” as they walk past you, and groups of friends sit and laugh or pray together on the grassy lawns in the courtyard. Also noticeable is that it is relatively racially diverse, at least in comparison to other private evangelical colleges. Approximately a quarter of the undergraduate population here are students of color—Asian and Hispanics account for roughly equal percentages (around 10 percent), with African American students less prevalent at around 5 percent. There is no visible tension between these groups, and indeed if one were to ask most white students and faculty here they would say that “everyone gets along well.” “Perhaps there may be isolated incidents of racial insensitivity,” they might add, “but there is love and acceptance here for anyone, regardless of skin color.” This picture of racial harmony begins to fade if one takes a longer walk around campus, looking more closely. One sees that the people walking around campus in what seem to be the unofficial uniforms for administrators (ties and dark suits) and faculty (khaki Dockers, blue cotton button down shirts, and brown shoes) are, with few exceptions, white males. Campus staff members who are not white are mostly janitors, groundskeepers, clerical or cafeteria workers. Pictures on display in the chapel and in some of the academic buildings portray Jesus as a European -looking man. Walking into the cafeteria during lunchtime, one sees certain tables that are filled with black students only, a few more with mostly Asian students, a few with mainly Latino students, and the large remainder with white students only. Occasionally white students will ask why other ethnic groups “segregate themselves” in the cafeteria, in ethnic clubs, or at certain spots on campus. Yet nobody seems to ask why the white kids segregate themselves as well. 7 126 These patterns would be noticeable on most predominantly white college campuses around America. With the exception of historically black universities, on most college campuses in the United States cafeteria tables are segregated, professors and administrators are disproportionately white, and low-wage service workers are disproportionately people of color. What seems different about EBC, what becomes more noticeable the longer you are there, is that there is very little dialogue about racial issues, at least in public. In fact it seems that people are unaware that these issues exist, or are possibly trying to pretend that they do not. There are no student groups protesting the lack of ethnic studies courses, there are no faculty presentations about racial issues, there are no editorials in the school newspaper about racism. On rare occasions, a white student will publish an article condemning affirmative action, but other than that, the public silence on racial issues here is deafening. The exception to this silence is on the campus electronic bulletin board system. Similar to chat rooms, these bulletin boards allow for electronic discussions on a number of issues. The bulletin board titled “multiculturalism ” is dominated by a small number of white students who think that affirmative action, diversity programs, and multiculturalism are unAmerican and un-Christian. Any student who disagrees with this dominant position receives a large number of critical responses immediately, often cast in angry tones and full of invective. So the one place on campus where racial issues are discussed frequently and openly is often a hostile environment for students of color. In private conversations among students of color, the topics of race and racism on campus is never far from the surface. For many students of color, life at EBC has been painful. Like many students who enroll in distinctively evangelical colleges, most of these students came to EBC not primarily to gain professional skills, but to immerse themselves in a Christian environment, where their faith could be built up, and where they could connect with other students who share the same values and life goals. Many of these students of color, however, say that they have received more acceptance in the secular world than at EBC. Although many of the difficulties these students of color face here may also exist on most other predominantly white college campuses, it seems that the strong white evangelical subculture at EBC produces unique racial dynamics that make the experiences of students...

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