College students are often tasked with not only general academics but also establishing some form of academic ambition. Students at Oberlin especially strive to establish themselves by being a part of many organizations or holding jobs to support themselves. For Black students specifically, this pressure is exacerbated because they’re faced with not only the overarching pressure of “needing to prove themselves” to the administration, and sometimes faculty, but tasked with uplifting their communities while still participating in everyday college life. This experience is not just specific to Black students; many students of color on some level have felt the constraints and pressures of being at a Predominately White Institution, but for the purpose of this article, this is our perspective as Black students.
Black students strive to do the same thing, but there’s more pressure put on them to establish themselves as “high achievers” since expectations for them are often lowered. They’re also left creating the very resources that they need. For example, the many Black organization events at Oberlin and resources to support Black students were created by Black student leaders. While we of course would rather have events be led by Black students than white faculty or administration, there is intense pressure to overachieve just to be recognized like other students, and creating support systems and opportunities for Black students that should already exist adds to this overarching pressure.
The need to rise above and beyond is not something that is new to the Black experience. Black excellence fatigue is the expectation to excel in all areas of life especially when compared to their white peers. This stems from a long history of Black individuals in general being disregarded and seen as not as “qualified” due to racist stereotypes within our society. These systematic barriers push Black students into the general beliefs of always “keeping up the good work” and “showing that you deserve to be here.” This plays in the back of many Black students’ minds and pushes them to further their education and resumes, represent the Black community well in multiple spaces, and constantly be looking for opportunities to “succeed” in life. When applying for anything, Black individuals need titles, experience, and “prestige” attached to their names, more so than their white peers, as expectations for them are lower. This, of course, is exhausting year after year and oftentimes can affect one’s mental health and overall well-being.
“I feel like there’s a lot of pressure on Black students specifically to over-excel,” College second-year Mia Knox said. “It’s not enough to simply go to classes or even have a job or even sometimes being involved in one thing.…Sometimes you have to have two jobs, be involved in five things, while also maintaining good grades.”
Even with sustaining multiple jobs, participating in activities, and excelling academically, it never seems to be enough. Black students are also often made to take charge of many resources and organizations to be recognized. Black student leaders are usually burdened with the responsibility of leading and facilitating resources for other Black students since those things aren’t always accessible. This is on top of being leaders in the Black community, as many of us participate in multiple clubs that are not centered around identity. Black students have to be the ones creating and maintaining diversity in clubs, and if they don’t, often the clubs remain majority white. We see this in campaigns like#BlackoutStudentSenate and also see the lack of diversity in clubs like OBurlesque, The Review, and the Oberlin Musical Theater Association. Unless students of color are spearheading the campaign, clubs and organizations stay white and isolated from the students of color who want to join but hesitate to put themselves in all-white spaces. This also makes it very isolating for the students who are in majority white clubs because not only are they often tasked with diversifying their club, but also with being a spokesperson for other students of color to listen to — which, of course, gets exhausting and can have a low success rate.
Now, one could ask, “How do groups diversify themselves if POC students hesitate to join?” and the answer is this: it takes time and work. It is not just throwing POC-themed or -inspired events, but emailing identity organizations, having conversations with multiple students of color on some of the hesitations they have about participating, and truly revising and rethinking the way the organization functions and appears to POC communities. More than anything, it takes patience and being okay with students still not wanting to participate. White students have to be willing to face the frustration of slow change but still engage in honest, intentional, critical, and challenging conversations. They also have to make it a priority to teach those who come after them to prioritize making space for POC voices, as the work cannot be contingent on individuals at a four-year college.
“The campus might not always recognize the issues and realities that Black students go through in general,” College fourth-year Alyson Jefferson said. “The spaces that are supposed to be inclusive aren’t as inclusive as they think. … Black programming, events, and all activities tend to fall on Black student leaders—not that the Africana Studies department doesn’t do anything, but the majority of the planning, outreach, and considerations come from Black student leaders, … not that Oberlin is doing the worst, but they definitely could be more considerate and supportive.”
Events such as the Black History Month Fashion Show and others within Afrikan Heritage House create a great sense of community. Black students, just like every other student, deserve secure places to embrace themselves and be supported, but creating such things falls heavily on Black student leaders, causing a majority of Black students to feel still overwhelmed and unsupported. Some professors and coordinators take it upon themselves to actively support students through these struggles since they’re familiar with them; however, this can have a heavy toll on faculty, since they essentially have to try to support students mentally in addition to academically. Some of us came to Oberlin with the expectation of receiving support when navigating many activities on top of academics. While there are some outlets where students can be supported, such as the Multicultural Resource Commons or the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, Black students still are the main ones organizing their own creative support on top of academics and jobs. Many Black students go out of their way to take care of their community, but that can become stressful year after year.
This is not to say that the administration actively disregards Black students, but there are ways they can improve their support for Black students so they’re not left overextending themselves. This is also not an issue that is isolated to Black students alone. Students of color across campus have asked for more resources to support them during their time at Oberlin. Going to a PWI is culturally isolating for most students of color, and that in itself is exhausting, especially when many students feel like, in order to form a group centered around their similar interests or cultural traits, it will be up to them to sustain the club without administrative help. The administration should make strides to collaborate with Black student leaders more when creating these events. There needs to be reform for how the administration supports Black students. Support can’t just fall on the Black students themselves and Black professors. Black students, just like everyone else, have to focus on academics and professors have to teach as well as advise students in their academics.
“There needs to be more done by administration so that students aren’t feeling like they’re overwhelmed and overworked, especially because we are an activist campus and people are always in multiple roles,” College fourth-year Wyae’ Stewart said. “You also need to have things in place to … make sure that your student workers are having some time for themselves and not being overworked by always having to go back and fix things that administration isn’t doing.”
This article is not to dissuade Black students from being their wonderful, intelligent, beautiful, creative, gifted selves. Oberlin is so lucky to have so many students who want to pursue multiple facets of life in the hopes of breaking barriers for future generations of Black students. But it’s also important to breathe, eat, and sleep. It’s important to recognize burnout and fatigue, since it can be very present in our lives , especially when having excessive responsibilities. There should be another form of a support system to ensure that Black students can actively have a resource to combat these issues of overachieving. We are beginning to enter a stage of adulthood that involves independence and responsibilities; however, it shouldn’t come at the cost of our well-being. Oberlin is often deemed an academic epicenter of Black history and culture. We should be able to take a step back and enjoy the institution we’ve helped cultivate. Our college journeys are quite short, and we all deserve an enjoyable experience that will help us gain future opportunities to further our careers without the risk of exhausting ourselves because of societal expectations to be “exceptional.” Nothing is more exceptional than being your authentic and rested self.
