Alexandra Reynoso

One day, while I was on FaceTime with a friend, walking to my bus stop like I had done many times before, an unhoused man began yelling racist slurs at me and aggressively approached me. In that moment, I didn’t feel like a student just trying to get to class, I felt targeted, unsafe, and completely alone. I ran back home as fast as I could, shaken and scared, and later contacted the police, but they were unable to find him. What stayed with me wasn’t just the incident itself, but everything that came after. I found myself anxious every time I needed to go to the bus stop, sometimes avoiding it altogether or changing my routine out of fear. A place that was once just a normal part of my day became something I had to mentally prepare for, and it made me question my safety in spaces that I should be able to move through freely. But even through that fear, I’ve realized something about myself. I refuse to shrink or silence myself because of someone else’s hatred. I deserve to take up space just like anyone else. I deserve to feel safe, to exist, and to move through my campus without fear. I wish for a campus and surrounding community where students, especially students of color, can feel safe simply getting from one place to another, without having to carry fear with them every step of the way.