White Privilege at PSU

            In addition to the twenty-six examples that Peggy McIntosh delineates in her anti-racism article “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”, another example that I notice in my everyday life applies to our school, Penn State. The university is often hailed as a “world-class university” and ever since the scandal that rocked State College last November, this phrase has been used even more as a sort of qualifying phrase when talking about the scandal and the school in a negative light or as an unwavering approval from alumni and other supporters of the school. So this got me thinking about what constitutes a world-class university and then how white privilege applies in my situation as a student who currently attends a world-renowned, world-class university.

            The condition that I would add to McIntosh’s list of white privilege advantages would be that I can attend a prolific, world-class university anywhere in the United States and be sure that people of my race will be widely represented across all areas of study, both students and faculty. This is an example of white privilege, because although there are some historically and predominantly black schools in the U.S. such as Alcorn State and Morgan State, they pale in comparison to the major universities like Penn State and others of its kind. Young, black college-bound students find themselves at a disadvantage that white students never have to face. As McIntosh states in her article, “My skin color was an asset for any move I was educated to want to make.” For me and for other white students like me, this couldn’t be more true, for no black or Asian or Indian or any other person of a race other than white could look at their race as an asset for a move like going to college. That is why this condition represents white privilege.