How does one year at a progressive liberal arts college transform someone who has only known traditional suburbia in the Midwest, where athletics trump academics and social change rarely occurs? This may be the same for many from the corn belt, but I like to think that Upper Arlington, Ohio is its own special kind of monster. A white/whitewashed, upper middle class, fantasy nightmare that is slow to keep up with quickly changing societal norms and protects its own like a lion would its cub. It is a bubble and is frequently called that by its residents. Being outside of Arlington and thrusted into an environment that is so perpendicular has stirred much hindsight.

Now UA (Upper Arlington) does a lot right. I never encountered crime of any nature throughout 14 years there. I didn’t see marijuana of any form (nor did I desire to partake or understand its glory) until my senior year of high school- and that was on a spur trip to Washington, DC, supplied by a man named Majid. There was apparently a black tar heroin problem, but the biggest issue that I saw was scandalous, slanderous phrases inscribed on the inside wall of the toilet stall. But those are Upper Arlington’s issues in a nutshell. Usually the community is never plagued by huge, headline-making scandals but rather subtle, successful attempts at defamation. Sometimes these events snowball until they cannot be ignored, but UA then goes on like nothing happened.

There are cases of this that occurred during my time there. One instance included racist texts by a group of guys toward a Egyptian girl. She took their comments and posted them, plus phone numbers, on her tumblr. Support from followers flooded in. Death threats were made and the school finally took the matter in its hands. School-wide meetings about racism were organized, disciplinary action was given, and the girl was even mentioned in the state’s largest newspaper. But as much as the school used its power, it never got to the root of the problem perpetuated by both sides. They were passive, alluding to the larger truth; UA is passive. It ignores the multitude of gremlins that lie underneath it’s quaint exterior. UA people turn a blind eye, support its products (children) blindly, and are blind to the simple truth that confrontation is necessary at times.

So coming here to Macalester, a place of discussion and debate about today's hot topics, feels off. I tend to step back when people confidently share their opinions on politics, race, gender and many other topics. Macalester students, at times, converge to represent a single voice speaking to its singular perspective, but for the most part a spectrum of beliefs is represented. And there is a passive aspect to the culture here, however, it pales in comparison to the ignorance weaved deep into Upper Arlington’s foundation. So I give thanks to Macalester for showing me a reality that is different, enlightening and so much more genuine than the one I grew up in.