LETTER: Open Invitation

This letter is directed toward Jonathan Steinmetz. He states that he doesn't "have a problem with the concept of the DuBois House . . . " This may have something to do with the fact that he knows nothing about it. Let me break it down for him: "DuBois was founded as a College House in 1973 for students with a particular interest in Afro-American history and culture." But wait, there's more!!! "Through formal and informal programmatic activities, students are challenged to participate creatively and energetically in the pursuit of knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the African-American experience." And he thought it was just a place for us to hang out together. Notice any rules or regulations barring non-African-Americans from the house? Neither do I. In fact, anyone who bothered to look it up -- and one needn't look far -- can see that Steinmetz obviously did not bother. In fact, had he done any form of research (besides, of course, listening to his distinguished colleagues call it "Da Boyz" house) he would know that there are non-African-American residents right this very second, and yes, some of them are Caucasian. How many? Well, maybe he should have looked into that, hmm? My high school newspaper columnists at least had the common sense to get the facts before offering opinions; I would think a Penn sophomore could do the same. The closest he came to a valid point was when he asked why it is fair for blacks -- and oh, how I love our being categorized that way! -- to " . . . specify what race they want their roommate to be." Realistically speaking, the question is moot. If a DuBois applicant had written there, "white male named Jonathan Steinmetz," would he have gotten his choice? Clearly not, for the Jonathan Steinmetz's of the world refuse to take time out of their busy, opinionated day to educate themselves and find out what the House is really about. It is simply offensive that he says he is " . . . not suggesting we get rid of the DuBois House completely . . . " when the problem here is not the House, but the "we" he speaks of. This "we" is comprised of uninformed people, such as himself, who preach diversity left and right while they -- if you will pardon the Negro colloquialism -- diss the DuBois House. I haven't seen his name on an application. If he cares enough about the diversification of the DuBois House to write about it in his column, than he should come help diversify it. This is an open invitation for next year: instead of expecting us to distribute ourselves throughout campus -- that is, come to him -- why doesn't he come to us for a change? He is the one unhappy with things as they stand, not us, the residents of the House. Besides, we know plenty about his history and culture -- that was all they would teach us in school, except for that one-page chapter on slavery during Black History Month. So what's stopping him? He just might learn something -- about us, and maybe even himself. NICOLE MALOY College '95 Resident W.E.B. Dubois College House

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