#i2amru (I, Too, Am Reinhardt) Volume 1 Number 1 | Page 54

Waleska’s
Increasing
Diversity
By: Ally Hurd
What is a community without
cultural diversity in it? For Waleska, Georgia, Reinhardt University
is the heart of the community and
brings a lot of diversity to this part
of rural north Georgia. Waleska
(pop. 600, not counting the University students) is a small town with
two gas stations, a Dollar General
store, and the rest consisting of the
University and houses with a bunch
of land. The majority of the people
who live in Waleska are white, and
the small percentage of African
Americans living in Waleska were
never really very noticeable until
Reinhardt University introduced
the most beloved game in America,
football, in 2012-2013. In the process, many African American athletes were recruited to play for the
Reinhardt Eagles., which more than
doubled the African American enrollment at Reinhardt between 2009
and 2015 to the current percentage
of 18% of the student population.
I had the privilege to interview
some African American students to
hear their voice about how it feels

54

comfortable as an African American here. “Sports are a dominant
factor in the diverseness at this
school, mainly due to the fact that
our athletics are a main component
for the survival of our college as far
as student attendance,” says Brown.
He not only gets along well with his
football team and other sports team
members, but with fellow students
as well. He also feels like he has an
equal and fair chance to things at
this University, no matter the color
of his skin.

Kevon James says there has not
been a time when he has walked
to class that someone didn’t smile,
wave, or say hello to him. Being
the small university that we are,
it makes it easier for people to be
acquainted with one another, which
helps everyone know each other on
a more interpersonal level no matter what ethnicity one is. Reinhardt
as an institution encourages treating everyone equally and making
sure that its students feel welcomed
in this community

(Photo courtesy of Ally Hurd)
Kevon James, a sophomore at Reinhardt who plays lacrosse and who is an
African American, perceives this university to be diverse mainly because of
its athletics, “especially since the soccer
and tennis teams have a lot of foreign
students,” he says. Playing lacrosse at
Reinhardt for Kevon is completely different than in high school, because he
The pros outweigh the cons for
most African Americans living in says, “The bond with my team is way
stronger, and I consider them to be my
this community, which says a lot
of good things about Waleska. For second family.”
starters, the root to bringing a largCameron Wallace, also a sophomore
er number of African Americans
into this community comes from who plays basketball, loves to spend
the athletic programs at Reinhardt time with his team, and he notices that,
at this university, all the sports teams
University.
are really close and they all branch out
to other teams to create relationships
The University, which was established in 1883, introduced football and friendships.
into its athletic program, and the
Corey Hicks, who is also a member
first game was held in the 20132014 season.
of the men’s basketball team, says, “It
would be more challenging for me as
Bringing football to the Universi- a black student here if I didn’t rely on
athletics to help me meet people.”
ty also brought in many African
Americans as well, which is one of David Brown, a junior and football
player at RU, feels completely Amerithe main reasons they feel welcan here.
comed. Being a part of a sports
team at Reinhardt is like having a
family away from home.

Since the day I started attending
Reinhardt, I have met nothing
but the most genuine people. As I
reflected upon this while writing
this article, I considered, “Maybe
it’s the simple fact that I am white,”
because with today’s society, generally whites do get treated with more
respect than blacks.
Even though Reinhardt and its
community are very open to any
ethnicity becoming a part of the
community, there are still flaws
and issues that need to be fixed in
dealing with race.
An African American student who
attends Reinhardt said that about
a month ago, he felt judged when
he walked into the Dollar General
store, which happens to be within
walking distance of the university.

to be black in the community and
at Reinhardt University. These students said they felt both welcomed
and un comfortable here due to the
people in the community and the
Reinhardt sports teams of which
they are a part.

The RU Lacrosse team leaving practice
(Photo courtesy of Ally Hurd)
Overall, sports at Reinhardt is
definitely a key factor in helping
people of different ethnicities feel
as if they belong to this community.
Another influence on making African Americans feel like they fit in
here is the type of people we have
in this community and especially at
Reinhardt.

“Racism springs from the lie thatcertain human beings are less than
fully human. It’s a self-centered
falsehood that corrupts our minds
into believing we are right to treat
others as we would not want to be
treated,” according to Alveda King.

He said that, upon walking in, “I
was with a Caucasian female. I felt
as if I was stared at by every Caucasian person throughout the store.
We were just doing some minor
grocery shopping for her apartment. As we proceeded throughout
the store, I continued to notice
people cut their eyes at us (me) and
look at us out of the corner of their
eyes. This situation made me very
uncomfortable.” He continued, “I
feel as if I’m looked at differently
every time I walk in the store, even
if I’m alone.”
Another example in which race has
been an issue within this community comes from fellow Reinhardt
student, Vashaun Washington, a
junior. “There have definitely been
some instances on campus where I
felt like I was treated differently due
to my race. “

55