Believe it or not, people do think that discrimination and unequal treatment is a thing of the past, or think that it "isn't a big deal anymore" (these are both false).
If seeing things like that email didn't clue them in, you think people protesting will? That's my point. I agree that racism and discrimination are still a big issue. Which is exactly why trying to "bring awareness" is so silly to me.
What systems are in place to raise awareness of these issues? Because I don't know what you're referring to.
There are whole months and entire majors dedicated to these issues. Did you forget the mandatory training that just came out? Can you honestly tell me that, outside of protests, you've never heard anything about these issues while here as a student? We had some title IX guy some into my class and give a spiel just a few weeks ago. I challenge you to find one person attending UMD who hasn't heard about some form of racism or sexual about 10 times in the past year. If you're a college aged person who reads school emails, watches the news, watches TV shows, follows sports, follows pop music, reads books or even just engages in personal conversions with someone other than your pet, you're "aware" of these issues. This is where the self-righteous and misplaced moral superiority comes in. You say that it showed people you care, as if other people don't? If they have anything better to do with their time they must not CARE like WE do. When you say you're looking for "awareness", I think what you're really looking for is more people to support your cause. Because if they're not 100% with your cause and willing to protest, the only explanation MUST be that they're not aware enough of it. The protest is a vanity project because the only good that came from it was what you felt when you were doing it. No one became more aware of these issues because of it, and if you think they did, once again, you're either ignorant or naive. You were never going to win anybody over. Maybe it did show that you care about these issues. Because that's what gets things changed right? We just have to let them know we care. Next time you go to protest, think about this: If you saw people protesting same-sex marriage on frat row, how much of an impact would that have on your opinion? Would it sway you to their side at all? Because whatever impact it would have on you, that's the impact your protest will have on people who disagree with your issue. In other words, none. And as for the undecided, ever walk by Stamp and get approached by some guy rambling about some shit you don't care about? Yep, that's you again.