International students have reacted with ambivalence to student demonstrations and calls for conversations about race and diversity. Some international students have expressed support for the “Why We Wear Black” movement, which began with a demonstration at the Wednesday, Nov. 18 Thanksgiving dinner in the Dining Hall, while others said they have not experienced discrimination on Dickinson’s campus.

According to Dickinson’s website, the college’s student body is 19 percent students of color and 11 percent international students.

Hisanori Fukata, a Japanese exchange student, said he has not experienced direct discrimination since coming to Dickinson. While coming from Japan he expected a more diverse environment, he said that intolerance has not been an issue for him on campus.

“To make people change their mind, I think to show anger is not effective,” Fukata said. While the “blackout” was a memorable event aiming to change the environment, he believed that it was too “harsh.”

Siddharth Batra ’19 also said he has not experienced discrimination on campus.

“In my life so far, as an international student, as an Indian, I have not felt discriminated against. As a brown man…as an Indian person, I’ve gotten nothing but love,” Batra stated.

Jiana Zhang ’17, however, believes that there needs to be a serious effort for people to take the movement seriously.

“I’m glad that someone is standing [up, and] fighting against discrimination. Dickinson should take it seriously and solve the problems,” Zhang said. “If the school shows [an] effort, the whole campus will take this problem seriously, instead of [it being] a funny thanksgiving joke.”

Merle Rowehl, a German teaching assistant, agreed that the protests were an effective way to show discontent.

“I was there when they spoke in the [cafeteria], and I personally thought that it was pretty powerful. I don’t really understand why people complain about someone having disturbed their Thanksgiving dinner,” Rowehl said. “I think that for someone to feel so belittled and so discriminated [against] that they have to do it at Thanksgiving dinner… just shows that there is something seriously wrong.”

While Batra believes that the protest and the survey are a great thing, he cited the nature of the application process as the cause of the “majority white campus.”

“I knew that I was going to be one of the only Indian people on campus. I knew that it was going to be a majority white campus, and it’s not a consequence of [Dickinson’s admissions] process, it’s just that… [over] 80% of the student body that applies is white,” Batra said. “If half of the applications they got were from African-Americans, then that would be reflected in the student body.”

For Batra, the most important aspect of these protests and surveys is respect for each other’s experiences.

“I am not anybody to say what other people are experiencing,” Batra stated. “I can’t even speak for other Indians; maybe the other two or three Indians on campus get picked on on a daily basis. But for this Indian, he’s had a great life so far. But that’s just for this Indian.”