I was going to write about the Islam Awareness Week post and subsequent comments on the Mizzou Facebook page. I almost think that was expected of this column space, but I think The Maneater editorial that ran this week took care of that.

Instead, I really want to focus on something ephemeral and minute that came across the Internet this week.

I mean, really minute. Only 140 characters, actually.

It’s Tuesday evening and I’m finishing some time-sensitive homework. Twitter is obviously lurking in the background (what type of college student would I be if some sort of social media wasn’t tempting my attention span?), and I’m following the live tweet of the Women’s Center’s “Women of Color at MU” event.

@MUWomensCenter
”As a person of color do you feel pressure of join minority-focused organizations? Do you feel pressure to represent in majority orgs?”

I saw this tweet roll onto my screen, and it really surprised me. If this is the first time you’ve read my column, then I should, for the sake of transparency, disclose that I am the president of a minority organization and friends with other leaders in other types of minority organizations.

Anyway, I wasn’t comfortable with the premise of the question, and as Leo McGarry taught Toby Ziegler in “The West Wing,” I rejected it (the premise, that is).

I felt that it was a slight jab at the purpose and creation of the various minority organizations, and although I’m sure it wasn’t, it felt like salt in the wound. The tweet insinuated that there is a pressure to be involved with cultural, political, gender or other identity marker organizations. It also insinuates that the organizations foster a pseudo-toxic environment and their goals revolve around creating an isolated social community.

The goal of any minority-focused organization is to create a community, provide a safe space within the community, and then take on the prejudice inherent in the larger, majority community.

Many minority organizations are struggling with the forming community bit and breaking these stereotypes. But when a more influential auxiliary implicitly (again, intentionally or not) reenforces the “coolness” factor of these organizations, it isn’t particularly helpful.

Another act of disclosure: this summer, I worked in social media for a prominent progressive think tank. I established the live tweeting strategy for the center and the protocol for this Women’s Center live tweeting was kind of half-assed. The few tweets it sent out didn’t end with a contextual hashtag, nor did the tweeter indicate who was talking or answering or really anything.

So, full disclosure: I may have reacted out of context, but in my defense, it wasn’t out of ignorance.

Unfortunately, the question of why other students aren’t joining these organizations is too often asked. At SASA executive board meetings, we have the same conversation: “What should we do at meetings?” “We have to get them to the meeting first.” “I don’t understand why our friends don’t come if we are there.” “That may be the problem — new people don’t want to be in an organization that is a clique anyway.” Silent.

That last sentence usually comes from me.

As the students and audience who attended the Women’s Center event are probably aware, processing and forming identity in college is incredibly important.

We all know that, and I guess what really bugged me about the tweet was that whoever asked the question views minority organizations, by nature, as incredibly cliquey and not as inviting as they seem.

I’m not sure, as a “leader” or “columnist,” how to seriously address this issue of community building without over-generalizing or forgetting that these organizations have to work with the MU culture as well.

Or maybe I’ll just reject the premise that once students start attending events or join a minority organization, whether to further explore their identity or to learn about a different culture, they fall into a cultish clique.