Bethany Davis experienced Ohio State during Obama’s election, Trayvon Martin killing

Akayla Gardner
Mon, 08 Mar 2021 22:59:17 +0000
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Bethany Davis started her freshman year at Loyola University in Maryland, but decided to transfer to Ohio State and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history in 2012. Credit: Courtesy of Bethany Davis

Bethany Davis started her freshman year 414 miles away from Ohio State’s campus at Loyola University Maryland.?

She thought the small, Jesuit college would be a lot like the private Catholic school she grew up attending in Cleveland from kindergarten through high school. She was just one of four Black students to graduate from her class of 101 students.?

“In high school, I feel like I was always kind of the token Black kid,” Davis said.

She was often called an “Oreo” by both her Black and white peers — a slang word for a Black person who is labeled as behaving stereotypically white.

Going into college, Davis wanted to fit in with the Black community. However, she felt ostracized by other Black people at Loyola. She mostly hung out with people in her residence hall and her best friend, Megan.

“I kind of just stayed away from the African American community. I really didn’t go to the cultural center or involve myself in any of those events only because of my experience and how ostracized I felt,” Davis said.

After a rocky first-year, her parents gave her the choice to transfer to an in-state university in Ohio to lower tuition costs. Davis toured Ohio State — her parents’ alma mater — where they recalled memories of their time at the university walking past residence halls and classrooms.

“My dad was pushing [me to go to Ohio State] from the jump when I couldn’t even talk. They would dress me up in Ohio State gear and I grew up watching football games,” she said.

The tour was all she needed to make her decision, and she said to herself: “Well, this is a no-brainer.” She transferred to Ohio State in 2009.

Davis bonded with her learning community, specifically created for transfer students, inside of the residence hall now known as Lawrence Tower. She was reunited with four people from her high school who were also transfer students on her floor.?

She eventually branched out from her learning community, joining the Speech and Debate team and the 3D Dance team where she met one of her best friends, Dorian.

“You could find your niche [at Ohio State], and I feel like I had a niche in different places … I was just involved in everything because it felt comfortable to do so,” Davis said.

Black students made up 6 percent of the undergraduate population in 2009, according to a report. A decade later, the percentage remains the same, according to the 2019 fall enrollment report.

Davis was so used to not seeing representation, she didn’t view the Black community as small at Ohio State. In 2009, 6 percent translated to 3,383 students.

“I just saw a lot more Black people than I did at Loyola, than I did when I was in high school, so that made me feel a lot more comfortable,” Davis said.?

Davis was a college student during two of the most significant events in recent American history — the election of former President Barack Obama and the killing of Trayvon Martin.

“When you watched [Obama’s] rallies, it was just such a mix of people that it made you think, ‘This could possibly unite us,’” Davis said. “But at the same time, there’s always going to be racial tension.”

Davis said she was called the N-word by a white man at an off-campus party in 2011.

When 16-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot in 2012 by George Zimmerman while walking home, Davis said none of her professors discussed the incident or the trial in class. However, outside of class, his death sparked conversations about how Black Americans have been treated throughout history.

Martin’s death caused Davis to start looking at everyone differently.

“You can meet someone and [think], ‘This person is so cool,’ but you don’t know what’s actually rooted in them,” Davis said.

In April 2012, a month after Martin was shot, the words “Long Live Zimmerman” were spray-painted outside of the Frank W. Hale Black Cultural Center.

Davis spent many hours inside the Hale Center studying, taking Zumba classes with friends and discussing current events with other Black students.?

She woke up the morning the building was spray-painted and scrolled through to Twitter where she saw a tweet saying, “I can’t believe they did that to the Hale Center.”

“I was just like, ‘That’s really messed up,’ because you start thinking about the circumstances,” Davis said. “[Trayvon] was a boy. He was a child. The fact that it was a person trying to play neighborhood watch … people just become so trigger-happy when it comes to [Black people] when you know for a fact there’s ways to take somebody down without having to shoot them.”

Davis said she remembers watching the criminal prosecution of Zimmerman in 2013 at her now-husband’s house. When Zimmerman was acquitted of all charges in 2013, Davis said it was “extremely shocking.”

“What’s sad is now seven, eight years later when these verdicts come in, I’m not surprised,” Davis said. “I feel like that’s because we’ve just been so desensitized to the fact that this is a normal occurrence.”

Davis said she doesn’t have any regrets about her time at Ohio State. She graduated in Ohio Stadium with a bachelor’s degree in history in 2012.

“All I know is I had the best time and I would not change it. Everything happens, it happens for a reason, it makes you the person you are. I honestly wouldn’t change a thing.”

Davis is now a special education teacher and she plans to share her love for her alma mater with her future children.