Growing up, I learned that someone was being “racist” when they treated certain people differently based on the color of their skin or ethnicity — and especially when excluding them from participation in the activities enjoyed by the majority race. Shockingly, the segregated graduation events taking place at Columbia University fit that exact criteria.

The graduation ceremonies being held are selective to Native, Asian, “Latin X,” and black students, as as well as low-income students. There’s even a special lavender ceremony for the so-called “LGBTIAQ+ community.” In a social media post this week, Columbia officials said, “Reports today … misrepresent our multicultural graduation celebrations, which exist in addition to not instead of, university-wide commencement.” Interestingly enough, middle-class and white students do not get these special segregated privilege ceremonies.

It does not stop there on university campuses. Candace Owens recently noted, “Netflix now has a category for ‘Black Cinema,’ and Uber eats now has a category for black restaurants — the Left has reintroduced segregation back into American Society under the guise of progressivism.”

I support the celebration of cultural heritage and our differences as individuals, but I find the double standards blatant and offensive. Elevating certain races or cultures while excluding others amounts to segregation, which encourages ethnocentricity and racial supremacy. American civil rights activist Ruby Bridges, the first black child through the desegregated doors of all-white William Frantz Elementary School in Louisiana, once observed: “Kids know nothing about racism. They’re taught that by adults.”

The constant effort of leftist adults to segregate colleges, TV shows, restaurants, and social media has the effect of teaching my generation that this is how the world is supposed to be. It’s not.