My friend’s argument, in retrospect, rings a little hollow and sounds a whole lot like a white person saying that race is not an issue for her—that it’s safely in the background.

Students from disadvantaged backgrounds may now have a voice here, an institution historically reserved for only the most elite and privileged, but that doesn’t mean they always feel comfortable being heard.

When we get here, we join clubs that fit our interests. We talk about race in Kuumba or Fuerza Latina. Or about being from Texas in the Texas Club. When people that are similar to us surround us, sharing is comfortable and easy. But while it’s vital to have these spaces to feel safe on campus, learning and growing rarely involve being comfortable.

Whether it's a black student not talking about her race with her white friends, or a financial aid recipient not talking about her money issues with her upper-class roommates, there is a problem. When social class, race, and all the other the other characteristics that put the “diverse” in diversity are not discussed, changing the unwritten rules becomes impossible.

Maybe it’s time to address the uncomfortable, to get to know not only classmates’ presents but also their pasts. Not only might this break down social barriers and help us achieve some real mobility—if we really take the time and effort to learn about one another, we might even like what we find.

Gabriela E. Weldon ’16, a Crimson editorial writer, is a history and literature concentrator in Currier House.