Black and white

Over the past few days, I've made my first experience with how Americans (or at least those on this campus) deal with racism.
On Halloween night a white Babson student wore a Paul Pierce basketball jersey, an afro wig and black face paint to the campus party. It was later discovered that he had posted several offensive comments and pictures about black, Asian and hispanic people on his Facebook page. This incident has resulted in a wave of protest, and, quite frankly, I don't know what to make of it. The Babson Free Press is full of angry articles, the Student Government Association held a giant protest rally yesterday, reiterating over and over again that racism has no place on the Babson campus, and we spent our entire Social and Political Philosophy class discussing events.

I have talked about this story with several people: Lance, who is half native American, has started a group called "We're not going to protest". He thinks taking racist comments personally puts you in a position of weakness, and he does not want to let his life be ruled by fear of rejection. Alvin, president of the Student Government Association, formerly head of the Black Student Union, told me that many black students, coming from a largely black environment to a predominantly white campus, feel out of place and need black role models. Rebecca, editor in chief of the Babson Free Press and native Hawaiian, is very concerned about racism on campus, which, she says, has been an issue for a while.
Here is what I have come up with so far.

1) Racism is wrong, no doubt about it - and above all, it is simply stupid. It is nothing more than hatred and aggression grounded in false stereotypes about a group of people. In my opinion, it is usually the result of a bad experience or, more commonly, a way of compensating for a lack of self-esteem. There is no place for it in any environment, especially, one should think, in an environment where people think of themselves as educated.

2) If there are people on campus that feel afraid and marginalized because of their race, religion or sexual orientation, this is a problem that needs to be addressed - in my opinion, by each of us individually more than by the college as a whole. I do not believe in institutionalized tolerance, because it is hardly ever genuine. I believe it is about being respectful and considerate of our differences, but, more than anything, about accepting the person as a whole, and showing an interest in who someone is and why they think the way they think.

3) Shunning someone who obviously has racist tendencies to a point where he is refused a sandwich in the campus dining hall is as wrong, if not worse, than the racism we are trying to fight. What is happening here is that someone, again, is marginalized for his beliefs. True, his beliefs are obviously wrong, but lets think about the future. If this kid is expelled from college, and even if he is allowed to stay, he will be hostile towards both the college community and black people for the rest of his life, because in his view, they have made it miserable. It will definitely not help him realize that he is wrong.
What he needs is not for people to shun him, but to sit down and discuss his views with him. Again, it is about accepting the person, while rejecting the act. This is an important distinction, and, as far as I see it, the only solution that will break the vicious circle.

Wow, I think I sound like a political activist.
Any thoughts?