I want to commend the Sundial for its series on “Discrimi-Nation.” The first two essays, by Chrystal King and Maria Martinez, were elegantly written, deeply insightful, and emotionally powerful. They both raised provocative questions about issues of race and ethnicity in this community and university that we all should be thinking about and grappling with, whether as students, professors, or administrators. Only through this sort of understanding and dialogue will we be able to appreciate both our similarities and our differences as human beings. ? Jeffrey Auerbach Associate Professor and Graduate Coordinator Department of History

Dear Editor,

I was very pleased with the article published in the Nov. 5 issue of the Daily Sundial. Chrystal King wrote a great piece regarding the problems of discrimination and how it can be isolating when you are the only person of your color in a classroom or anywhere. The reason why it was so powerful to me was because it truly sounded like it came from her heart. The feelings she described that she had felt when her class went over the history of slavery were powerful. As an Armenian-American growing up in Glendale I experienced the difference of my culture and the culture of America. I have been to various camps, events and trips where I was the only Armenian and I can relate to Chrystal’s feelings of loneliness.

No matter how much we try to admit that we do not like discrimination or judging people by their nationality, when it comes to pressing moments in life, we realize that sometimes we just need people around us that we have a lot in common with. It isn’t because they are also black or Armenian, it is because we know that we share a history and culture together. I think what people can realize from this article is that our heritage does not always have to be looked at as something that divides groups of people in negative ways. People think about black and white in terms of black and white. They don’t consider the big gray gap in the middle. Chrystal exposes this part of cultural and racial heritage. She talks about finding and connecting with other blacks in a classroom full of white students in a brighter light.

I am looking forward to reading the rest of the articles in this series about experiences of discrimination.

Sincerely, Narek Khachatrya