White privilege

There is a space on campus that is mainly for students who have identified themselves as students of color, or who are in identity groups on campus. The space has "open" hours when everyone can go in, but this is only when the managers are there. The door is almost always closed but if you are a person of color, you can get in with your I.D. card. If you are me (white), you have to knock and usually someone will be there and let you in.

Today, I was meeting someone in the space for my documentary (which is about racial identity) and so I knocked. The people inside jokingly yelled, "How do you identify?" several times in varying wording while they walked to the door. I sort of managed an "um....."

When the girl opened the door and saw that I was actually a white student knocking to be let in, she looked embarrassed and said "oh.." As I entered the room, the other people in the room looked at me, realized the irony, and we all started cracking up.