Alan Davis, Brendan’s father, never was a soldier, an air force pilot or a trauma doctor, but actually a network engineer at CC from 1991 until 2011. It wasn’t until late May of this year that Davis learned—in a single-paragraph letter—of his termination from the school.

The new proposed minimum wage for Colorado College staff is $11.06. If the wage supported by self-sufficiency ten years ago—$9.46—were adjusted to inflation, this would amount to $11.89, eighty-three cents below what was called for in 2003. Not only has the college not made any of the promised improvements, but it has actually made steps in the opposite direction. In 2003 Celeste put his consent in written word, “ I do accept the committee’s recommendations that the college move toward the notion of a minimum ‘self-sufficient wage’ as a starting wage for CC and Sodexho employees.” So how did this happen?

Ten years ago, the minimum staff salary at Colorado College was $6.92 per hour. A 2002 survey from Sociology Professor Jeff Livesay’s Inequality course revealed that 78 percent of the staff felt they were being inadequately compensated for their work. Approximately 50 percent of the staff reported experiencing economic hardships such as worrying about food, inability to pay for housing and an inability to afford health care. Yes, this was at CC— not such a magical bubble for some. 

Over dinner last month, Roberto Garcia, Colorado College’s former Director of Admissions, told me how he lost everything. This loss wasn’t a long time coming, or even mildly expected. Garcia contends that during his 25 years at CC he received consistently strong performance reviews, maintained hundreds of amicable colleagues on campus and across the country, and played a key role in selecting the current incoming class, which President Jill Tiefenthaher referred to as the “most selective and diverse” in our campus’ history. All of this abruptly ended when Garcia was terminated from CC on April 4, 2014. It marked the end of his service to the College and the beginning of his fraught journey for justice. 

Here’s the truth: At Colorado College, I’ve never been discriminated against, treated differently or even felt mildly uncomfortable because of my race.

Yet, this isn’t because CC is the paradisiacal“camp college” that we want to believe it is, a post-racial haven for progressive intellectuals where diversity is embraced. If CC was this place, then your response to my statement might be, “Of course you haven’t experienced racism—not here!” But let’s be real. The reason my declaration is true is because I look white, not because CC has achieved the harmonious racial utopia that we advertise on our brochures.