Chances are you can’t scroll down your Facebook newsfeed anymore without seeing some example of racial profiling or police brutality.  But these images don’t quite hit you the way real-life experiences do.

Last semester, I learned the hard way that even students of color like me, who are constantly treated like anomalies for going to college in the first place, are not above the suspicion of racial profiling.

After my 10 a.m. class, I headed for the parking lot behind the Markstein building and realized that I forgot where I parked my car. Most students would rule that the Markstein parking lot is gigantic, which can make losing your car more common than we like. I remember aimlessly wondering around the parking for the next 10 to 15 minutes.  

After tracing my footsteps in almost every parking row, I finally found my ’88 Oldsmobile. I unlocked the door and plopped in the front seat, soaking up the hour of relaxation I had available before track practice.  I was on the verge of napping when I got a knock on the window by a CSUSM police officer.

The officer asked me for my name and school ID.  After casually telling him my name and handing him my I.D. card, I asked if anything was wrong and why he kept asking me questions.  

“We received a call about a suspect casing cars in this parking lot,” said the officer.

I looked at him in disbelief, even more surprised that he wasn’t joking.  I stepped out of my car explaining to him that I was indeed a student who forgot where I parked, when I discovered three other police officers in the background, standing in position and prepared to take action if necessary.  There were three cop cars blocking the exit in front of my car with their siren lights blinking in circular motion.

My easy-going compliance was only a poker-face to hide how angry I was. Once the police officer was convinced I was no threat, he and the other officers hopped into their vehicles and drove off.  

I couldn’t help but think, “Who cases cars in the middle of the day, in a lot full of cameras?”

Exactly how suspicious did I look searching for my car?  Was it the black beanie I was wearing? It couldn’t have been my jeans since they weren’t sagging. Did they not see my backpack? And since all these justifications were nonsense, why else then, would they have suspected criminal behavior, if it wasn’t for the color of my skin?

What more do students of color have to prove?  Because it’s these situations that clearly “make it about race.” It’s a dreaded conversation, yet society continues to cram people of color in these basic, racial profiles that will never contain our ambitions to succeed.

One way or another this society will know we are students like everyone else. No matter our skin color.