April 27, 2004

No Bull Diversity Summit-Large Group Notes

The No Bull Diversity Summit—April 27, 2004

Large Group Discussion

"The question remains: What are today's young activists dreaming about? We know what they are fighting against, but what are they fighting for?"
— Robin D. G. Kelley, Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination (7-8)

How do we define diversity? Does it include sexuality, religion, historical perspective? Is it more than race? What implications does the language we use have?

You can't define diversity, but there is a lot of value in the attempt to define it.

But we can define it, even if we disagree with definitions. It involves redress of some kind. Redress that helps create meaningful access for people who have traditionally been denied access.

The word diversity turns off most people on campus, because it implies that we are teaching people about an issue; it treats people as though they are ignorant. It needs to address everyone. People need to know they aren't going to be insulted when they discuss diversity.

Sometimes it is important not to let redress distort issues. It can lead to "diversity" only applying to certain races or genders. Double standards can emerge under the guise of redress. For example, in an effort to discuss diversity, a speaker came to campus that targeted white students.

Definition of redress: We do need to be careful with our choice of language, which is one reason to focus on access. This allows us to talk about power and environment. Redress is about 'how do we get the problem solved.'

How do we get diversity to not end when we leave the class?

One way is to get the community to read all of the publications produced in the community, to read the cultural products of the community, in order to know what the issues are.

We need to get to a point where everyone is invested in diversity. Part of doing that is getting to a place where everyone understands how they are already involved in diversity.

Diversity shouldn't be limited to one program. It should be a part of the entire curriculum.

We need to understand diversity on an individual level rather than solely as something attached to certain communities.

The campus separates groups of students - in housing, for instance.

We have to make our ideas about diversity visible.

What's something we can do to 'take diversity with you' outside of the class? Get involved with different events and opportunities on campus. We don't necessarily have to add to the university - we just need get involved.

How can an inquiry into diversity come into contact with a discipline that isn't necessarily devoted to diversity? Example: creation of a webpage. How can you use this medium for the creation of knowledge?

How do we create a diverse space? Diversity is about getting to know other people. It is about what you do with your understanding. How do we make conscious efforts to get involved?

We need to understand the idea of Safe Space, and how we can work together to create safe spaces on the campus.

There is a lot of ignorance, stupidity, or hatred on campus. It is hard to accept that this is a diverse campus.

Posted by mryonker at 03:16 PM | Comments (0)

No Bull Diversity Summit-Small Group Notes

The No Bull Diversity Summit—April 27, 2004

Small Group Discussions
"The question remains: What are today's young activists dreaming about? We know what they are fighting against, but what are they fighting for?"
— Robin D. G. Kelley, Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination (7-8)

The prompts:

[1] Tell a story about a time when a diversity discussion really worked in a classroom and/or a time when it didn't
[2] What is the student's role?
[3] What is the teacher's role?
[4] How does what happens on the campus/in the dorms affect what happens in classrooms and vice versa?
[5] What advice would you like to give teachers (and students)about participating in diversity discussions and projects?

Anne Fitzsimmons:
I took notes in the group led by Jennifer Wingard. Our group was made up of three WP teachers - Jennifer, Jeff Simmons and me; four fraternity members (two who had taken an African American Studies class); two students from Jeff Simmons's 205 class; Pedro Luna, an academic counselor in the Office of Supportive Services; and a student who identified as LGBT.

Several times one student argued that Syracuse is reactive rather than proactive when it comes to addressing diversity and bias-related incidents. He suggested several things: that all faculty receive diversity training; that faculty be held to more stringent requirements for building diversity into the curriculum (he provided one example of a lame gesture to diversity in his design class: he was asked to "research" Japanese designers and keep a journal, but he was never invited to share what he discovered with the rest of the class); and that tenured faculty be evaluated on the quality of their teaching.

Students provided examples of the lack in course offerings across campus. A student who was in the architecture school her freshman year said that not a single teacher covered non-European designers and buildings (other than the pyramids). Another said that LGBT course are offered so erratically that it's a struggle to find them and enroll in them. That same student also critiqued the Newhouse model of inviting students to cover diversity issues in a "unit": one semester students write stories about LGBT issues; another semester they cover some other marginalized group on campus.

We spent some time debating the issue of international TAs, and (not surprisingly) this was the moment when even the most enlightened students retreated: if their grades and performance are at stake, they're less eager to consider diversity and globalization. Students argued that TAs have to be proficient in English, and have to be able to explain things to the class. But they were reluctant to consider their own roles in the exchange - that is, the importance of trying harder, taking more time, being compassionate. Earlier a student had passionately stated that "You have to seek out diversity!" which is a wonderful call to action; but there was still a resistance to "seeking out" diversity when it came to international TAs.

Jennifer asked students to offer examples of what they thought students AND teachers should learn about and do, and the responses are as follows:

Becky Howard:
The group had five undergraduate students, four graduate students, one staff member, and two faculty. The students did almost all the talking, though at the end I went around the group and asked everybody for one piece of advice that they would give either students or teachers in response to your last prompt. The group member' answers to that question are compiled below.

Three things that I found especially valuable from our small-group discussion:
(1) one student made a strong argument for diversity discussions in writing classes to be derived from popular culture (such as the film Higher Learning) or campus life (such as the blackface incident).
(2) The most painful stories were about teachers' racist classroom moves.
(3) Classroom space should be made in which students can be brave enough to make mistakes and feel uncomfortable.

Other recommendations include:

How do you do classroom discussions?

Advice to teachers: keep trying, even if you're only speaking to the converted. Learn to listen. Have a starting-point, from a book or a campus incident. Recognize what will be hurtful to others. Incorporate diversity through real-life incidents or popular culture (e.g. Higher Learning), not through books; this issue is relations, not history. Acknowledge that students have a life outside the classroom. Create a space in which people are comfortable with being uncomfortable. You can't define words like diversity and minority, but you have to be as inclusive as possible. Celebrate difference.

Advice to students: exercise forgiveness and patience. Speak your mind. Take control of classroom situations. Be real; be able to say "nigger" and understand why it makes African Americans uncomfortable. Become personally invested. You don't always have to speak up in class; you can find other avenues for engaging the issues outside the classroom, e.g., with the teacher. Don't be afraid to say the wrong thing. Celebrate difference. Cynicism & dismissiveness are defensive moves. Move away from diversity as a way of correcting ignorance. Take responsibility for what you already know, and push others to take responsibility for what they know. Take risks; be courageous enough to make mistakes.

Carol Lipson:
A number of my students cited bad experiences in classrooms in which discussions of diversity issues became ugly and hurtful. Students also cited really good examples - some political science courses, and some social work courses. In these cases, teachers were adept at creating atmospheres in class that enabled open discussion. The students began to think about what roles teachers played in these negative and positive experiences. One strand of thought came out clearly - that teachers needed to allow student discussion to open up, even beyond comfort zones. This might involve some periods of silence before students would move in to undertake and push difficult discussions beyond trite levels. They strongly felt that students needed to be given the space to speak, encouraged to speak.

Another strand came out clearly too - that teachers should not just ignore it when hurtful things get spoken, and should not just let that lie. That had happened in some of their bad-experience classes. Several students pointed to one teacher whom they found particularly successful in encouraging open, substantive discussion on issues of diversity: Dan Holliman, who teaches a course on "Race and Politics." They described his approach as encouraging students to present their points of view, but within the framework of reasoned argument. Students in his classes need to be prepared to back up what they say if asked - to provide grounding for their positions. According to the students, Dan models this well himself, and the students learn to follow his example; they felt that his classes well exemplify open discussion of difficult issues.

Students also felt that there should be reflective 'discussion' about the discussions. This might happen in writing during class time, or in electronic chat settings. They felt strongly that students needed to develop a sense of how what they say affects others, and how what teachers say or don't say affects students.

They also recommended that issues of diversity should be taken up everywhere, not just in writing courses.

They were strangely non-receptive to the question about the interconnections between academic life and nonacademic life.

Dana Harrington:
In regard to the first question, one student told a story about a classroom experience in which the classroom environment turned hostile and broke down into accusations. The topic was affirmative action, and when differing opinions were expressed in ways that turned accusatory and judgmental, the teacher did nothing, so things escalated 'out of control.' Students in the group suggested the need to establish ground rules for discussion and for the teacher to intervene when such rules were broken - to acknowledge the tensions in the room, and to SLOW things down so that tempers and emotions don't take over the classroom.

In light of this conversation, students in the group also stressed the importance of teachers not becoming obsessed with 'protecting' everyone in the classroom or worrying too much about students being offended in the classroom. They thought that it would be impossible for someone NOT to be offended at some point. But the way to deal with this is not to avoid particular topics, but to acknowledge up front that people may be offended in discussions but it's important to try and recognize what language (and ideas) offends people and try and talk through discussions. All acknowledged that this was very hard to do. There was also discussion on how important it was to allow topics to be discussed from a variety of perspectives without instant judgment.

What I found most surprising were the responses to Question 4. No one saw any connections (or would admit to seeing any) between what happens in classrooms and what happens in the dorms/larger campus. They seemed to read this question very literally. Those that talked said they just didn't continue classroom discussions outside the classroom and saw no connections.

A few students also discussed the issue of double standards. A female student said that she was currently writing a paper in an education class that addressed spousal abuse where the female was the abuser. She suggested that it was even more difficult to have classroom discussions around such sensitive issues that seem to flip the script.

In relation to concrete suggestions for classroom practices, one sophomore student suggested that one way to address diversity in the classroom (especially in the freshman year) was to have students write about where they come from - their home town and area, their high school, etc.) and to leave off their names and mix up the papers and then have students randomly select and read the papers out loud to the rest of the class. She thought this was a way to get at the range of diverse experiences represented in the classroom and to broaden people's conceptions of what diversity is.

David Nentwick:
One writing teacher in the group shared a story of classroom discussion addressing diversity gone awry. After reading a short story that took as its subject "being an Other," the teacher found herself looking to the students of color in the room to "represent." It was agreed that such an approach has the effect of perpetuating stereotypes, placing undue attention/pressure on individuals to speak, putting them on the spot and more likely making them want to hide from view rather than speak from experience.

One thing that really struck me as we talked in our group: individuals have their entire world view, their sense of their place in it, and their identity at stake when they are asked to express themselves in public. It is very risky and difficult for people to open themselves to the possibility of change that comes with this kind of risk-taking. At the same time, it was clear that the group shared the view that the only way to break down stereotypes and truly address difference is through understanding; through the ability of people to express their experiences and for others to "step inside them," to stand in the shoes of another and understand their world.

Students expressed a desire for other students to take responsibility for not letting racist/sexist/homophobic remarks "pass" in class discussions. Teachers, they remarked, have the responsibility to facilitate student learning by creating and maintaining the conditions for pointed, respectful discussion. Students in the group advocated for the value of writing in that it provides people the opportunity for reflection on their own words and the words of others; writing provides a critical distance that can give way to a more "reasoned" or "calm" expression of views. However, writing *does no good* if it remains on the page. Thoughts, feelings, views, arguments, etc., must be voiced in conversation. There was unequivocal agreement on this last point.

"Diversity" should be integrated into students' academic life across the curriculum. When asked how often classrooms offer opportunities for the kind of discussion we agreed was necessary, four out of five students replied that their courses did not provide such opportunities. I was reminded of a conversation I had at 4Cs in San Antonio with a writing teacher from MIT, who expressed his engineering students' ardent desire for the opportunity to discuss the ethical, social, political implications of the work they do. Clearly, if SU is to "value diversity" as a "core value," then ongoing dialogue must take place around ways for as many teachers as possible to create opportunities in their coursework to engage questions and problems of difference.

Last, another classroom scenario: a student argued that without the "civilization" of Africa by Europeans, native Africans would probably have killed each other off or died from other causes that various technologies have been able to address. Other students responded to the other student by saying "How can you be so ignorant?"

We discussed how this kind of back-and-forth presents opportunities for both "sides" to be investigated to uncover underlying assumptions, beliefs, knowledges, etc. Teachers must be able to realize these moments as just such opportunities, and facilitate discussion, and not "police" the exchange (e.g., teachers should not intervene by saying, "Hey, don't accuse people of being ignorant" without offering a "because" and without an eye toward continuing a conversation). I remarked that I *do* believe that teachers have some responsibility in the classroom to "teach" good conversation/discussion practices, to help students learn how to respond without attacking each other; not to "bracket" their immediate reactions/feelings, but rather to learn how to engage in discussion so that it is not closed down and so that it moves forward.

Students in our group unanimously said, "The summit was great!"

Karen Oakes:
Here are some of the student reactions from the group I sat in on (with Steve Thorley). In general, the students:


One student in our group proposed reading different SU student publications in writing classes, and several others endorsed this idea, saying that we have to bring the student community and its concerns into the classroom if we expect (desire?) that classroom discussions will spill over into their community.

I really appreciated hearing from students on this topic - they had much of value to say. It truly inspired me to think about incorporating some new pieces into my courses.

Maureen Fitzsimmons:
Our group's conversation started with some bad experiences in students' classes. The main story told was about a discussion of Michael Moore's "Roger and Me," in which the instructor could not control the side conversations, many of which included racist terms.

There was some discussion as well of a so-called "double standard," particularly around the notion that minority comics, for example, can do and say things that white comics "could not get away with." This led to a discussion of what it means to be "racist" and what comprises a "racist comment." The talk about "racism" and what it means led one student to comment that the issues students are asked to take up in class discussions are too "big" and therefore the discussions seem pointless. One student said he didn't know what he was supposed to do about these big issues that were discussed in some of his classes, and that frankly, he had come to college so he could have a career and some day start his own business, support his family, etc. But when someone said that these so-called big "issues" would apply to him in that life - e.g., who would he hire, would he offer health insurance, would he participate in his children's schooling? - it was if a light bulb went off for every member of the group. The students agreed that if they have a clear sense of the implications for their own lives, then the conversations might be very meaningful and worth participating in.

The group then talked about ways to make these kinds of class discussions happen in a classroom. Everyone agreed that students need to take responsibility for the conversation, but it was easier if everyone had to say something and if the instructor called on the student rather than waiting for volunteers. Also the questions the instructor asked should be varied, so that students would be able to do more than simply agree or disagree with what had already been said. It was also important, the students said, for the teacher to be a person in the conversation, not simply a "proctor" leading the conversation but never revealing herself or committing herself to any viewpoint, even as she asks students to take this risk.

Students seemed willing to talk about these issues, not only in the summit but in class as well. But they want teachers to recognize the risk inherent for students in taking positions publicly. One student referred to my reading of the rules at the beginning, particularly the part about giving speakers the benefit of the doubt until you are sure you understand what they are trying to say. All the students agreed that students do not give each other the benefit of the doubt in class discussions and that what they say is always taken personally. Setting up ground rules, like we did for the summit, could help mitigate that, but it won't eliminate it.

Maureen Puetzer:
First of all, congratulations for a fantastic session. As one of my students said, I hope that there are many more sessions like this one.

A few lingering impressions from the group I was in:

One student expressed frustration and helplessness to do anything about furthering understanding, implementing good practices, etc., related to diversity. He wants to start a business, be successful, etc., and sees no way to spend a lot of time on this topic. When another member mentioned how he could participate by his hiring practices, working conditions and atmosphere, work ethic, etc., the student immediately saw these possibilities for his participation, and he became excited. The problem did not seem insurmountable.

I think we can learn from this response. While we are trying to expose the complexities of diversity, let us not make it so huge that it doesn't seems approachable in practical, everyday ways.

Students really responded to personal experiences - personalizing experiences had a strong effect. Students wanted to respond to them.

Having a safe space to say what students really feel is extremely important. We need to let them know that they are not being judged, that they and we are all in this discussion together to discover information and insights.

On the other hand, one student mentioned to me after the session that she really is discouraged by teachers who accept all opinions equally, don't challenge or redirect students' biases or misinformation in any way.

Students really get turned off by lack of really substantive reactions by their teachers. How to encourage responses and then to be able to challenge them is a tricky bit. Maybe if we adopted Martin Luther King's approach in his "Letter from Birmingham Jail," we could have more meaningful discussions.

Posted by mryonker at 03:00 PM | Comments (0)

April 19, 2004

Notes from Forum 6 (Recruitment and Retention of Students from Historically Underrepresented Groups )

Deborah Freund (Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs)
My heart tells me that diversity is the most important goal for this university. We hope as educators that we will educate our students to be leaders in their professions, their communities, and their volunteer work. You can't be successful in a demographically changing world unless you are fluent - in different religious backgrounds, different genders, different racial backgrounds, etc.

We want to attract a large number of students of color - larger than now. It is crucial to our success. I am well aware that some students of color find this a chilly climate, and it is our responsibility to change that. We want a safe and welcoming community for everyone to be able to express themselves. We need to address their anger and fears. It is our responsibility to make that happen - for people to feel safe.

Horace Smith (Associate President of Undergraduate Studies)
When Professor Willie was here for the Brown v. Board of Education commemoration, he said that Harvard's entering class in 2004-05 will be 40% students of color (which does not include Asian students). What does that say about SU, which has been content with a much lower number, perhaps 10%? We need to start thinking much more broadly about the impact of diversity on the educational environment we're developing.

We need to plan for that to happen. Harvard understands diversity as its civic duty but also as a choice to advance their educational goals.

We currently enroll about 12,400 undergraduate students: 6.1% African American, 4% Latino, .5% Native American, and 5,2% Asian.

Our numbers for African American and Latino students have diminished; we've stabilized our overall enrollment but are losing our momentum for students of color. As we compare ourselves with peer schools, 60% have increased their enrollments of students of color. Something in our environment, our process, our world of students is keeping students away. Why? How can current students of color become ambassadors for us?

Nancy Rothschild (Assistant Dean of Admissions)
First I will speak about our general approach to recruiting students, and then I will address initiatives related to students of color and international students. There are three basic stages in the recruitment process: awareness, familiarity, and commitment. We begin by receiving a directive from the Chancellor's office regarding specific enrollment goals and the charge to improve quality and increase diversity.

The first stage of recruitment involves building awareness and developing a robust inquiry pool. We build contacts by purchasing names of prospective students, attending college fairs and college nights, visiting schools, our presence on the web, etc. Also, there is general visibility created by the reputation of the University and when we are in the news.

The next stage in the recruitment process is to convert inquiries to applicants by building familiarity with the institution. We do this by providing more in-depth information about academic programs and student life and through individualized communication. We offer personal interviews on campus and in the field, send e-mails, offer various chat rooms, and invite students and their families to visit the campus. The colleges and current students work very closely with us to help to tell our story.

We then turn to the final stage of commitment, when we encourage admitted students to enroll. While we offer admitted student programs in various metropolitan areas, bringing students and their families to the campus is the best strategy.

As we look at diversity recruitment, we focus most of our attention on the front end of the process to increase the size of our inquiry pool. We buy names through the College Board, participate in the Venture Scholars Program (which identifies students in underrepresented populations), search for transfer students by contacting community college students who have been successful, and attend college fairs and nights throughout the country that will attract diverse student populations.

Building relationships with high schools, agencies, and community programs that are engaged in preparing students for higher education is also an important part of our diversity initiatives. There is extensive outreach through our Metropolitan New York Admissions Office. While there are too many affiliations to mention now, some of them include Operation Link-Up, the Albert G. Oliver Program, Prep for Prep, and the High School for Leadership and Public Service. Within the City of Syracuse, we are actively engaged in the Gear-Up program and the Syracuse Challenge. Through this kind of outreach we help students to know more about opportunities at Syracuse University, and to be well prepared for higher education so they'll have college choices.

We also bring counselors to campus so they can see the University for themselves and encourage their students to consider Syracuse. Their reaction is often surprise about our beautiful campus and diverse student population. We have participated in the CRUSSH tour for many years. This includes Colgate, RPI, Union, Skidmore and Hamilton. This fall we will be joining the Finger Lakes Tour, which includes Ithaca College, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and the University of Rochester. Susan Donovan, Dean of Admissions, recently created the Bridge Tour, a consortium with SUNY Binghamton and Cornell, specifically directed at counselors who work with students of color in the metropolitan New York area.

Throughout the second phase of recruitment, we seek to build familiarity. Communications and personal contact are very important. The schools and colleges at SU help us in terms of individualized outreach. As noted earlier, we visit with prospective students off-campus and on-campus, offer personal interviews, and communicate electronically. In the future, we would like to work more closely with our student ambassadors to host an overnight visit with prospective students in the fall.

At the final stage of recruitment, we encourage all admitted students of color to visit campus. The campus visit is the single most important activity. With the help of the academic divisions we call each admitted student of color to encourage participation in one of our Spring Receptions or Multicultural Spring Weekend (about 130 students this spring). Multicultural Spring Weekend is multi-faceted. It includes academic dinners in the colleges for students; a parents dinner with speaker Colleen Bench, Director of the Parents Office; the Spring Reception program; recreational activities in the afternoon; a closing Presentation and Dessert Reception with speakers James Duah-Agyeman, Director of Multicultural Affairs, and Professor Dan Holliman addressing academic success; and a karaoke dance party.

We address financial considerations in order to make Syracuse a viable option. We are competing with many, many other fine schools for the best students.

International recruitment is a little different. The challenges there relate more to world issues than things we have control over (e.g., SARS, visa restrictions, war). We have less direct contact, though we know it's important to our recruitment success. For many years we have participated in the Linden Asia Tour and last year we went to various countries in Latin America. In addition, we coordinate with faculty, administrators, and alumni to cover college fairs in other countries.

Monthly chatrooms for our international students have been very helpful. We have streamlined the admissions decision process, using email as well as regular mail. Right now more than half of our international applicant pool is already studying in the US. About 25% of the applicants are from Asia, and 25% are from everywhere else. The most attractive programs are engineering, computer science, management, and VPA

Pat Burak (Slutzker Center for International Services)
I indirectly recruit international students, both undergrad and grad. We have over 2,000 students who have SU affiliation, and a few more at SUNY ESF and UC ' 2,437 students. How do they find out about us? Word of mouth and reputation -- the sons and daughters of students who were here before. Despite economic and political difficulties, students still believe it's worthwhile to come.

The Writing Program is central to that, teaching students to write and understand across cultures. To write in another language requires far more sophisticated skills than to read and to speak. You have to think in another language - writing teachers help them learn how to think in English.

Our students must write and must learn how to express their ideas in good English. Part of this is cultural. One student said I don't have the courage to speak in class, or I am afraid to express ideas because they may not say what I'm thinking. Some topics are harder too. The Brazilian student who said, My woman will be here soon. That sounds different in English. Inflection matters. Our idiomatic expressions are hard for them. Reality is structured by language and cultural context, including caste.

We recruit by example, reputation, and hospitality.

Students find support from departmental secretaries, from faculty, etc. But it's not perfect - we have a great deal to learn. We as Americans are very reluctant to admit what we don't know. Take this opportunity to learn more about the world.

Anne Shelly and Barbara Yonai (Executive Director of Student Support and Retention & Director of CSTL)
Anne and Bobbi have collaborated a long time on retention studies, both qualitative and quantitative measures.

[They showed charts with the graduation rates and drop out rates in terms of the categories required by the Federal Government: Asian, African American, Hispanic, Non-Res, Unspecified, Caucasian, and all-University.]

Consistently by the end of four and six years, the differences in cumulative graduation rates shows Caucasians graduate at a consistently higher rate.

When these numbers were presented to the Student Retention Council, the question was, why? We did a study of three cohorts - about 400 'leavers' - 50% interviewed. We focused on the reasons for their leaving and who the students were. There were no differences by school college, gender, ethnicity, but big differences by the GPA range and cumulative GPA. So we looked at the high GPA leavers, and interviewed 70% of them. We got interested in the 3.5 or higher GPAs who had left Syracuse.

The number one reason for leaving (regardless of GPA, etc.) was "I don't fit." What students meant when they said that differed. African American students said 'fit' worked along ethnicity lines. They were so surprised by what a white campus was, and what that meant. Many mentioned were unhappy being in a class and being asked to speak as the one representative of their group.

The high GPA students talked about class - the rich kids and the Greek kids - the sense that they can't find anyone to talk to intellectually.

The number one reason among the high GPA leavers was that courses were not intellectually challenging enough - and WRT 105 came up a lot. Those who had positive experiences, had wonderful things to say. But when it came down identifying the courses that didn't meet intellectual challenges, 100% of the time it was lower division A&S courses.

The anecdotal data claims SU is too expensive. No, the leaver reason was value - it's not worth the money.

One bright spot - the students who leave have doubts as early as October, and they are talking to their parents about leaving at Thanksgiving break, but they come back spring semester. So the retention council is asking, how do we identify those students (3.5 - 4.0 GPAers) in the fall and address their concerns in the spring?

As the selectivity of the classes increase and as the profile of the entering class increases, the issue of intellectual rigor will. We need to challenge these students.

DISCUSSION


[1] Why do students of color or international students want to come to SU?

Nancy: Our size is attractive to students, because there are lots of choices academically - lots of programs, lots of majors/minors. They look at special opportunities. They are looking at 'product value.' Though fun is important, it is mostly about the academic choices and the outcome.

Horace: we have a lot going for us, and this isn't different for students of color. We do need to recruit faculty of color and advertise that more broadly. We haven't communicated that effectively, to explain how this will affect students of color. For example, Georgetown has Washington DC to attract students of color. Duke, too, is in a progressive, warm climate, etc. We don't have those natural attractions, so we need to establish references that would give us a competitive edge - e.g., recruiting high profile faculty of color.

Pat: International undergraduate students are mostly self-supported by their families, because they aren't eligible for many work study programs, etc. We have a family from Lebanon who graduated five PhDs from SU - based on family membership and word of mouth.

[2] Could you speak to the role of cohorts, for example the McNair students?

Horace: I think it's too soon to tell. The potential is there. The same characteristics that would attract any student would attract students of color. What we can't capitalize from is creating the image of SU as being caring and nurturing - which would encourage students of color to choose us. We've become smug in ways, complacent. The world has moved beyond us. 10% is a very dismal statistic to think about in an enrollment the size of Syracuse. We have about 1000 students + in the context of 12,000 students. And the faculty representation is worse. Fewer administrators are now African American - and other institutions have worked much harder to do much better. I'm disappointed that we are not more progressive in a world that has become so much more diverse.

Anne: On the positive side, we have some pockets in some programs, like Engineering and IST, and that really support students of color in their professional life (mentors, networking, etc.).

[3] How is the community of Syracuse itself a recruiting resource?


Nancy: It's a challenge on the undergraduate level. We talk about the cultural opportunities, but students don't see a lively downtown scene- plus the weather. We rely upon the university community.

Horace: We're a residential campus. The drawing power is what this campus has to offer in its residential nature.

Anne: The university does a good job of connecting to the city, though. We have grabbed hold of first generation students and worked with them - here's the skill set you need, here are mentors, etc. We can partner with the local school district and community to raise awareness and get skill sets going.

[4] What is the campus like for students - in dorms, in classes?

Anne: In the leavers study, they say that they have rarely talked to an adult. In the dorms, they are bumping into people who are relatively hostile. How do we make sure that every student has a meaningful connection to a knowledgeable adult? Hannah Richardson, from the Management School, sent a personal email to the high GPAers, and said that high achieving students often need more advising, and over 50% of the students came to see her. They came in with a game plan in hand, but had no idea of how to do it. They were only talking to their peers.

[5] I came up in the Syracuse Challenge, I knew it was greatly being reduced, and there is a whole talent pool that is not being addressed. These kids don't think there's any chance for them. What can we do to improve the Syracuse Challenge?

Horace: I'm not sure we've found the right means of communication internally and externally to make it clear to students and their families why they should come, even though we have these great resources.

[6] Does the issue of recruitment have implications that are even broader? For example, smaller liberal arts colleges have made diversity an extremely important goal because all students (including white students) don't want to go there unless the student population is diverse. This is a larger campus, but do you think these concerns will also make themselves known here too? Will students feel that the campus isn't diverse enough?

Nancy: There is so much that we're doing, and there's room to do more. We welcome ideas or approaches. I'm concerned if in any way you have the sense that it's not enormously important to us. Every aspect of our admissions planning includes diversity; it's primary in all of our thinking. We need to do more with outreach and our ties with alumni. It's about being connected. We welcome more ideas. We do have trouble engaging the faculty and administrators of color, because they are busy, but we want more contact.

[7] Did you ask if SU was the first choice school for those who left?

Anne: The vast majority of them chose SU first.

[8] In terms of the whole environment that the student encounters, what kinds of connections are people in the retention office making with the dorms etc. to make the space more comfortable or safer in their 'private' lives?

Anne: We are working closely with ORL, and we've tried to follow up on several things. We have a follow up to the JumpStart program, so we are there to talk throughout the fall. But it's a small number. Two things that students have told us are very problematic: the old housing process that put students of color in one place, white kids in another. But students have said, in the new process, we don't like to be spread out so that we become the people who make the dorms diverse. Second, some first year students are placed in dorms with sophomores, and feel very isolated.

Bobbi: Some people are exploring how learning communities fit into this and make things better for students.


 

Posted by mryonker at 11:39 PM | Comments (0)

March 31, 2004

Notes from Forum 5

This forum explores what disability studies is and model how to use language and representations of disability as an instructional tool in writing (and other) classes. Speakers who will initiate the conversation are members of Beyond Compliance and disAbility Law Society:


Rebecca Cory, Julia Morse, Jagdish Chander


Notes from the conversation:


Julie: We have two ads we want to watch and then discuss with you. The commercials: 1) Christopher Reeves (Nuveen) and 2) Dan Keplinger (Cingular Wireless) While you watch, think about what words you would use to describe these two commercials. What words were used in these commercials that pertain to disabilities?


Ad #1: The words participants used to describe the Christopher Reeve/Nuveen ad were Superman/Heroic/Comic book, manipulative, heart-tugger, congratulative, normalizing, offensive, condescending, and paternalistic. Words to describe people with disabilities in the commercial: "very special", cancer, AIDS, steps forward.


Ad #2: The words used to describe the Dan Keplinger/Cingular Wireless ad were religious, reverence, muse, singular, transcendent. Words to describe people with disabilities in the commercial: gimp, creativity, expression, lucky, person vs. body.


Jags: Two Views of Disability:
1) The Medical Model of Disability looks at a person with a disability as someone with a deficit, from a medical point of view. Disability is a disease and must either be prevented or cured. It is a problem to be fixed. There is no emphasis on the social aspects of disability. The impairment is located in the body or mind rather than in the larger society. This is the historically prevalent view.


2) The Social Model of Disability: views disability as a cultural construction. It presumes Disability is part of the human experience. This way of thinking about disability intersects with other movements (allies with civil rights movement, for instance)


Disability Studies uses the social model. DS has roots in disability activism and civil rights. There is a critical analysis of the position of people with disabilities in society. Rather than viewing disability as a deficit, 'disabilities' are viewed/described as characteristics.


People First Language is language that puts the person first (a person who is blind, a person who has epilepsy), and reclaims some of the terms that have traditionally been used in a pejorative way (gimp in the Cingular commercial, for instance). Person first language allows people to choose how they want to be labeled, and it takes into account the positioning of the speaker.


Rebecca: Let's use this theoretical framework to discuss the commercials some more, and then think about how we can move this information into the writing classroom.


Dana: We could ask what models are at work here, as far as representations? The Reeves commercial matched up with the old model, the medical model, because it uses the terms "cure" and relates spinal injury with cancer and AIDS.


Rachel: It plays off of Reeves' role as Superman, someone who rises above the crowd.


Carol: Reeves' image has been manipulated to make him look taller, slimmer. They make him fit into an ideal.


Rachel: I'd want my students to think about who these companies are. Is Nuveen really investing our time and energy and money into this type of research? Or is this just a ploy?


Dawnelle: And who is the audience? What is expected at this moment [The Super Bowl]?


Carol: There is a gap between a commercial promoting investment, a way to get rich. But the commercial is showing the "do good" aspect of investing (if you invest, you are somehow doing good). There isn't a connection between the two-investing money and doing good.


Rachel: It is a happy story because he ends up looking just like able-bodied people.


Rebecca: Why is there tension surrounding Reeves in the disability movement? Because he has the money to fight this personally while many do not have nearly this amount of money. Reeves is problematic because he promotes scientific research at the expense of current human rights.


Rebecca suggested ways that disability could be approached in the classroom:


1) Deaf President Now—In the '80s, the board of Gallaudet University hired a hearing candidate for President over two deaf candidates. Exercises: Write articles about this controversy from different perspectives. Evaluate the articles for language. Compare to other student protests, for example, Kent State, the integration of white colleges, etc.


2) Tunnel of Oppression http://www.dailyorange.com/global_user_elements/printpage.cfm?storyid=585462 Exercises: Apply social model to program that represents medical model. BCCC wrote extensively about this program. See their article at: http://home.att.net/~TANCWEBDESIGN/BCCCTUNNEL.html


How can we start seeing these problems as cultural rather than individual?


Margaret: I read an article about exercises that are supposed to make able-bodied people (or temporarily able bodied) more sensitive to the experiences of people with disabilities, such as "walking a mile in my shoes" or "rolling a mile in my wheels." How do you make a common cause without reducing it to feeling sorry for?


Rebecca: Rather than simulation, students could analyze an environment, a space, without actually sitting in a wheelchair.


Paul: How does Syracuse rate as far as meeting regulations? And how is the environment, socially, for students with a 'disability'?


Jags: The Office of Disability Studies has made a big impact on this campus. I've been here for 2 1/2 years and there have been significant changes.


Margaret: How much of the university response is working under a medical model and how much is working under a social model?


Rebecca: SU is on the cusp of getting disability, but it hasn't gone all the way yet. Beyond Compliance was founded on the idea that mere compliance wasn't enough. They hope to move the university to think about universal design: people can access the environment in the way that is most convenient for them.


Mary: There was an article last semester in the D.O. that reported a high level administrator as saying that disability isn't a part of hiring practices, because there isn't a large population of students with disabilities for them to be a role model for.


Rebecca: There is a constant cry in the disability movement: Nothing about us without us. There is a need for disabled scholars in this field-it can't just be "abled" scholars.

 

Posted by mryonker at 11:34 PM | Comments (0)

March 01, 2004

Notes from Forum 4

Alison Mountz began the conversation. She teaches urban geography and is interested in the challenges of getting students to learn about the city. She taught at the University of British Columbia before coming to Syracuse. She organizes field trips so that students enter into the city, encountering it up close, rather than studing it from a distance:

At U.B.C., students were required to do a two hour walking tour in the downtown eastside area. The students then created representations of the place, recognizing themselves as members of the city, as complicit in what they saw. Students produced different representations of the place—including photo collages, tape recordings, collections of artifacts, as well as written essays—that formed the basis for a lot of discussion.

On another project at U.B.C. students were to walk around "gentrifying" neighborhoods, unguided, observing signs of displacement.

In Syracuse she arranged a field trip to the Eastern Farm Workers Association, where students could learn about their work and advocacy, in the face of the effects of globalization.

Students in at SU also went to the Midland Avenue waste treatment facility site, where they met with local activists as well as walked around the site.


Anne asked each panelist to talk about what they worried about with these assignments, and Alison commented that she had anxiety about what students can learn in two hours, what challenges rather than reinforces stereotypes; she also worries that residents of the neighborhoods will feel uncomfortable as students enter their space. She provides a lot of content before they go, and the class discussion moves between theory/studies and their experiences.

Adam Banks: In response to Alison's assignment, Adam mentioned the barbershop series, films which take up the issues of gentrification. He then began by talking about finding a place in diversity work/initiatives where you can stand as a way to connect practice and theory. For him, the question is, how do we enlarge access for those who have been excluded? Tolerance and multiculturalism isn't enough. The stories of African Americans, Latino/as, and Native Americans have to be heard as part of the larger stories. So writing instruction is organized in two ways: [1] framing the courses around language and politics and [2] making central to the course content the histories and practices and rhetorics of those who have been excluded, so that all people can see themselves in the stories. He described a number of diversities - intellectual, pedagogical, curricular, and evaluative. They all have to be a part of daily practice. He also noted that linguists no longer debate the value of different languages, but there is still a debate about what language(s) we teach and value in the classroom.

Adam then described his current WRT 205 class, which is taught from an African American perspective and then links out to larger issues. He draws on popular culture, without reducing the intellectual rigor of the coursework. He is looking always for students to find ways to play to their interests while still attending to the larger issues raised in the course. He doesn't think there's a problem with content in a writing course.

Adam described his 'intellectual mix tape' assignment - to demonstrate for students the different ways to package ideas and intellectual claims. They have to create a sound track that conveys or challenges the work/readings of the course as well as write something like 'liner notes,' which requires higher order synthesis. That is, they can't just pick some music, but they have to argue for the particular mixing they have designed.

In a course, culture, and technology, Adam requires that students do a technology transformation project, based on 'low riders' (historically a practice in Latino culture, where men transform cars so that they reflect the perfect combination of individual identity and larger cultural connections). Students have to transform the computer, from the codes to the case.
He is interested in creating real space for people in the curriculum without ever sacrificing the intellectual work/rigor.

Michael Lasley talked about how Spike Lee's film "Bamboozled" might be taught in our writing studios, especially Studio 2. He showed two clips from the film, and passed out a handout with ideas on ways to historicize the film (see handout). This unit aims to challenge the blackface and bias-related incidents on the SU campus.

Brian Stout discussed the activist work he is doing on campus in terms of LGBT issues. As a witness to the gay bashing in the fall, he has taken it upon himself to change the climate. He passed out an essay that he and Rachel Moran have written (which will appear in the LGBT Pedagogy book being produced by the Graduate School, edited by Kathleen Farrell, Nisha Gupta, and Mary Queen) and a list of resources. He then showed a 10 minute power point presentation. He has talked with Judicial Affairs, Residential Life, and a Higher Education class about this work, so it is making it's way into the institution. The Writing Program will have this presentation available for teachers to use through its diversity website.

Posted by mryonker at 11:31 PM | Comments (0)

November 18, 2003

Notes from forum 2

Notes from the conversation:

Anne Fitzsimmons was the moderator for this forum. Why the title of the forum: is diversity allowed to be talked about in classrooms? Are courses designed around diversity?


While Anne introduced the forum, pictures taken by Public Safety of bias related incidents on whiteboards in the dorms were passed around. The messages on the boards: Dave and Will AKA "Gay Dave"; I hate nigger dudes.


Questions framing the conversation:
Where does free speech become hate speech?
Have bias-related incidents been handled and handled well?


Jennifer: The hate crime against the gay friend of students--it wasn't handled well by the university. The Women's Studies classes did handle it well. Maxwell didn't handle it well at all. The response was: "It happens to everyone, it really shouldn't be a big deal." It doesn't affect government as a whole, was their stance, so it wasn't important. Granted, it might not be their main focus, but they didn't really try to address it in a meaningful way.


Kayt: In African American Studies, the study of oppressed people anywhere is taken up seriously. The professor spent an entire class on the gay-bashing issue. The assigned material for that day was covered another day. The professor emphasized how the incidents were hate crimes, and they discussed the university's response to the hate crimes. The blackface incident had several forums, several university-wide events; there weren't as many (if any) for the gay-bashing. There needs to be more connection between oppressed groups. The problems need to be addressed equally--by the community. These issues can't be segmented, one can't be valued over another. (An example) With the war on Iraq: women with equal experiences being treated differently. How do you look at a situation and decide who gets more treatment?


Steph: In VPA classes, the bias related incidents weren't discussed at all. It shouldn't depend on the major, it should be important to us all.


Jessica: There needs to be a class that specifically addresses such issue.


Kayt: There used to be a "diversity curriculum" that was a variety of classes. It tried to be reinstated but the group of students have since graduated and no one has really worked diligently on the issue to my knowledge. There is a group of students working to get this reinstated.


Anne: we are also really interested in what is going on with events that are not public incidents-the everyday events.


Jessica: I know the freshmen were exposed to the idea of diversity during orientation, but this didn't do much to sustain diversity after orientation.


Jennifer: There was a film shown in the dorms that made a big deal out of public safety punishing people who write things on white boards. Everyone laughed at the film. Guys would write dyke on the board and mean it to be funny. And this is a problem in society. People say that something is "gay," meaning it is stupid. This can be a big deal to someone who isn't out. These messages creates a hostile community. It affects everyone in some way. It affects visitors because it sends the message that this person thinks gays are bad.


Representative from Residence Life: They decided last year to tell or train RA's to take all messages seriously (bitch, fag, etc) and report it. They were tired of the environment it created. This year so far is there have been 58 incidents. They have decided to confront the issue and not make it acceptable. They take it seriously. Most students respond that they were just joking, but they don't let them off the hook. They try to let the students know why this isn't funny.


Jennifer: My floor meeting was two minutes. The message is that these phrases and words upset a group. But there is not a discussion about the way that it affects the entire community. No one really takes these meetings seriously.


Mara (Professor of Education): What are we not learning in our classes? We don't have enough faculty that are committed to teaching diversity, even if we revive the "diversity curriculum." What keeps faculty from talking about it?


James (Office for Multicultural Affairs): Not every faculty member is comfortable with talking about or addressing diversity in the classroom.


Margaret Himley (Director of Undergraduate Studies, The Writing Program): How do we work with the word diversity in the classroom?


Kayt: Are we really talking about the same things when we talk about diversity? It's such an intangible thing. And do we employ the idea of diversity in our everyday activities at the university?


Tim: How can a student make it through four years of college without understanding how blackface or messages on a whiteboard can be offensive? Diversity is something you have to want to experience. There are divisions that the university has tried to address: like random housing for Freshman. The university needs to create a way to get people together more. The way things are now, you can ignore it if you want to.


Steph: People usually define diversity as oppressed groups, but we are diverse only when considered as a whole. I come from a small town. It wasn't close-minded. Even though I come from a small area, diversity incorporates a variety of experiences.


Mark: Concerning black face: When I first started reading about it, I kept thinking: did the person know? Did they know they were representing a history? These incidents should be examined on a case-by-case basis. Does being unaware affect the university response? Would a diversity curriculum actually change anything?


Mahdia: It is the university's job to educate the students here. Yes, people will do what they want to do, but we need to put our courses into action. If we learn about diversity in our courses, there will be no excuse: "I've read it, I've seen it, I understand it." Then there will be no questioning whether a person had previous knowledge and was exposed to the subject and consequences before hand. With, the incident two years ago: the student who dressed in blackface didn't even do the community service assigned as a penalty that they were supposed to do. If we have training in class, there are no excuses and the Judicial Review Board needs to follow through on the penalties given to ensure that what was given out as a penalty is upheld.


Mark: Where do we draw the line? Who gets to make jokes? What is the line between humor and hate crime?


Kayt: Is it as unacceptable for a non-white student to put on white face? As for a white student to put on blackface? We have to know the history, the culture, the economic impact of history on the group being represented. Marylin Monroe, for example, is on a pedestal, is idolized, so dressing up as her is probably not going to be thought of as humorous-it would be glamorous. Pacific Islanders, African Americans, Asians, etc., do not enjoy that privileged stereotype in society. If we don't understand the implications of these acts, we would approve or allow or participate in these activities. The same forces don't act on the Marilyn Monroe's of the world. Or to think about specific leaders: How was Malcolm X idolized? How was Bill Clinton idolized?


Jenn: SU doesn't punish crimes the same way. Drinking: get a ticket, 60 hrs. of community service, academic penalty. 1st Blackface: didn't even follow through on community service. It took someone getting hurt before it became important to the university. The LGBT Resource Center had to come up with ways to handle this because the university had nothing in place. Our hate crime policies are a joke. Students should be more afraid to hit a black or gay student than to drink in front of a frat house. Hate crimes are addressed by saying: "Please don't use the N-word." That was it.


Margaret: If it becomes judicial, it might become harder to address in class. "My RA made such a big deal over this" might shut down conversation. I am worried about the unintended consequences of judicial responses.


Jenn: I'm not sure. Diversity does affect policy and governmental writing. It shouldn't be hard to relate diversity to our curriculum. And if it were judicially backed up, it might motivate students more.

Tim: Is that type of motivation an attempt to controlling behavior or changing beliefs?


Steph: About judicial responses: Isn't this a problem in the first place, being afraid to talk about it or not wanting to confront students? Students shouldn't be babied, even if it scares them away.


Mara: In educational literature, people are starting to change the term zero tolerance to zero indifference. Choosing to no longer just let it go by. It doesn't have to be typical punishment, but it needs to be addressed.


Adrea Jaehnig (LGBT Center): Documenting the whiteboards makes visible the discrimination that students feel. Is the problem the whiteboard? No. It's easy to see them, but they are just a symbol of the problem. By the time it's a crisis situation, the judicial answer can't be the only answer. We need to address our community standards are beliefs. And what students say to each other is more influential than what teachers or administrators say, so we need to educate students on how to talk about these things. Whose responsibility is it to do this? It is often put on the "underrepresented" students, and this isn't right. How much do we want the authority to solve the problem? If we rely on punitive actions, on the authorities, things might not go as quickly or as well as we'd like.


Mahdia: This type of training in classes is best taught in conversation.

Jessica: What will teaching diversity in 105 do? How will this change the university? Or how will the university change? A class won't change beliefs. And students don't seem to care.


Elisa Norris (Ph.D. student, The Writing Program): Diversity is tricky because this is a socialization process. The hesitancy of diversity in classes is that short term changes are short lived. When they go home, things might go back to the way they were before. Until we have conversations that let people address their feelings honestly, and then it might sink in.


Mark: Forcing stuff down our throats doesn't change feelings. There needs to be a way to address diversity without forcing.


Anne: Complicate the dichotomy of, it is either addressed too much or not at all. If students are uncomfortable with one thing, they may well think it is being forced down their throats. We are trying to create an atmosphere that allows people to talk about uncomfortable things.


Brian: The university doesn't do much to promote that conversation. After these bias incidents happen, I feel like attaching that big 'No Place for Hate' sticker to my clothes. The biggest problem is that too many people aren't even aware of what is going on. If you don't read the D.O., you're basically unaware of these incidents unless you hear it from other people. We need to do everything we can to just get people talking. You know how the school gives everybody those 'Real Men Wear Orange' tee shirts? Wouldn't it be better using that money to give everyone a "No Place for Hate" tee shirt? Whenever a hate crime of bias-related incident happens, everyone would start wearing them and telling their friends to wear them, and sooner or later everyone will be talking about it. Unless we find ways like this to communicate these incidents to the people who feel unaffected by them, we're still just preaching to the choir.


Jenn: We already have resources to teach diversity, i.e. women's studies and AAS. >Kayt: AAS and women's studies are part of American History, but they are taught as something separate. They are added onto rather than included in.


Jenn: AAS and Women's Studies should be mandatory.


Representative from Public Safety: I have been here for 34 years. I grew up with blackface as part of everyday life. It was normal. So I have wear two hats when dealing with these incidents. What I try to do is to be a medium for people to say what they have to say and also provide a medium for those who have something to say and don't have a way to say it or can't say it. Most of these things are occurring during the first few weeks of school. Is this something they come here with or are they learning it here? Some of these situations need to get back home to the families of students. Conversations in the homes would help change things in the homes as well.


Tim: These incidents may be part of the process of change. It might be an example of our teaching it. It might be part of the clash of cultures.


Kayt: Concerning the demonstrations following the blackface incident at Halloween: One of the Chancellor's partygoers suggested that the protesters teach them. But they are students. It isn't their job to teach the administration or the rest of the university community/population. It isn't her job as a black person or as a student to educate anyone about anything. It shouldn't be put on, the job of teaching, on the AAS or Latino studies departments. It is the responsibility of the university. There needs to be some sort of affinity between the teacher of the 105 class and the students.


Vivian May (Women's Studies Professor): About "comfort": whose comfort do we value? Whose throat do we care about shoving stuff down? Classrooms aren't safe for everyone, so for whom do we decide to make them comfortable? We need to figure out how to be together uncomfortably.


Dana Harrington (WP Professor): And keeping the conversation going is the key.

Posted by mryonker at 11:22 PM | Comments (0)

November 03, 2003

Notes from Forum 1

Notes from the conversation:


Margaret Himley, Writing Program Director of Undergraduate Studies, began the forum with comments explaining why we were meeting and what we wanted to get from this forum. Because diversity is such a broad term, much of its meaning is lost: it simultaneously stands for everything and means nothing. A couple of overarching questions, things to keep in mind during the forum: How is the value on diversity received?; What is the underlife of diversity?


Mariana initiated the discussion. Began by addressing how and why diversity became a (the) theme of orientation.


Two years ago, the chancellor decided to start a new orientation program. A diversity sub-committee was one of several sub-committees formed as part of restructuring the orientation program. Apparently, this new orientation format was supposed to begin in 2004-5. At some point last year, the chancellor decided to begin the orientation this school year. So the department of orientation was created and had only a few months to prepare this years' orientation.


The university, Mariana stressed, wants students to know that diversity is a key value. Which is why diversity was promoted so much during orientation. Diversity was incorporated into the mailings students received during the summer. The last mailing, in particular, was something on diversity. This led to the first event of orientation-an event focusing on diversity. This event, as all of the events during orientation, were celebratory in nature, a carnival atmosphere. As students entered their dorms, there were No Place For Hate campaigns going on. The first night, students were directed to Schine. As they entered the student center, there were Steele drums playing. Music from around the world was played to expose students to things they weren't familiar with. And the entertainment for the evening was a lesbian comedian. All of this-the music, the carnival, the comedian-was to surround students with diversity, to teach them about diversity without preaching to them.


Diversity was incorporated into every part of orientation in some way. The student leaders for orientation were from diverse backgrounds. Orientation promoted as many "diverse" events as possible. And students were broken into small groups in order for them to have the chance to get to know a few other students a little better.


Monica (Team Against Bias): TAB was formed two and a half years ago after the "black face" incident. There was a group of students who were outraged by the incident and had no resources to help them address this issue. TAB provided support for what the students wanted to do. The students chose the course of action and TAB helped them do it. This seems to be the course TAB takes: they let students decide how they want to respond, and TAB supports the response within reason.


TAB's response is typically to be a support system for the affected community or individuals. Three things TAB does: respond to major events (black face); respond to daily events; they are proactive in educating the campus.


There are and have been a lot of bias-related messages written on white boards this year (for instances: race, religion, sexual orientation). Sexual Orientation is the most frequently targeted. There are the major events, such as the gay-bashing on Comstock and the racist comments/language/music in the dorm, but these are just the ones that we hear the most about. The everyday bias-related events often go unreported at all or are simply ignored by the general population.


Question: Why do you suppose students don't report classroom incidents?


Power relations of the class. They don't feel they have a way to address these incidents.


Anne Fitzsimmons to the students: What sense do you have on how "diversity" was received in Orientation? What sense do you have on how the biased-related incidents are received by students?


Leslie: People try to justify the bias-related events: "it's a big campus, these things happen," etc. There needs to be a way to bring these bias-related events to light. As a first year student, she lived on a multi-cultural floor and took a multi-cultural class. This living environment and the formal setting of a classroom gave her a way to address these issues, to talk about them and hear different perspectives. Leslie: "students should have formal training-classes-not just social stuff."


Student: She lives on a multi-cultural floor this year. Race isn't the only form of bias; money and economics plays a huge part in bias. And although this type of bias isn't typically reported, it is, apparently, prevalent in the dorms. And Perline informed us of a black face incident that occurred this weekend.


Jessica: Students are NOT aware of things. They ignore the emails about these incidents. Like Leslie, she thinks there should be a mandatory class or forum of some sort. Not all students are interested, but she thinks that this could be because they don't know much about it. They hear about it, maybe too much, but it doesn't mean anything.


All three students talking:
Diversity isn't brought up in class. And when it is, people do not feel comfortable talking because they do not want to be attacked for their views. In order to talk about things, students need to be able to speak their minds without worrying about being attacked or being labeled.


Dana Harrington learned this very thing from the writing center's research: students are constantly "misunderstood" and having to clarify their statements. And these students are anonymous.

Question: How can we get people to talk and take chances in a classroom?


Jessica: Smaller classes (like summer start). No one wants to talk in a lecture hall. They might be lectured, but they are not allowed to discuss it themselves. And Summer Start classes are themselves diverse-most "regular" classes are not.


Monica: Class is not a safe environment. Students of color must choose the battles they wish to fight. Sometimes they might not feel like fighting a battle in class. And before this can ever be taken up in the classroom effectively, there would have to be a commitment by the faculty. They would need to understand how they have been affected by oppression, racism, etc.


Jessica: (Some) students do not take white board incidents seriously. They don't think it is a big deal. And, again, students DO NOT KNOW about most of these incidents.


Mariana: They'd like for the diversity focus to be a year long thing somehow-connect with a class or classes or something.


Monica: Needs to be practical. It can't just be talk or theoretical. People need to be in small groups and experience

Posted by mryonker at 11:16 PM | Comments (0)