Is your first name Jamal / Denasia or Theodore / Chad / Mackenzie / Juniperberry?
Is your last name displayed on the entrance to one of our campus buildings?
Can I pronounce your last name without having to sound it out one syllable at a time?
Do you live in a neighborhood that was redlined when your grandparents moved there, or was your family displaced by the construction of a new Bikram yoga studio?
Did you have any family members who attended this college, or were your ancestors legally barred from formal education altogether?
Did you attend a criminally underfunded public school or one whose tuition exceeds the annual operating budget of Flint, Michigan?
Did your education involve being kidnapped, having your hair forcibly cut, and being forbidden to speak your native tongue, or did you have ice cream socials on the first of each month?
What is the total value of your family’s financial assets, and how much of it was accumulated while being exploited for free labor under inhumane conditions?
What were your grades in the school where none of your teachers looked like you?
What was your score on that super-important standardized test designed by a eugenics enthusiast?
How many times have you summered on Cape Cod? Does your family use the word “summer” as a verb? How many pairs of pink shorts do you own? What is your favorite flavor of kombucha? Do you want to join my frisbee golf league? Do you like Belle and Sebastian? What’s your favorite TED Talk? Does this plaid shirt make my stomach look fat? Where should I spend my gap year? Do you like my finger tattoo that looks like a mustache when I hold it up to my lip? Do you want to go to Burning Man with me? Why can’t I get dreadlocks? Where are you really from? Can I touch your hair? Isn’t that just reverse racism? Can I use the “n-word” if I’m just singing the lyrics to a song?
What is a challenge that you’ve overcome in your life?