Apologies to my colleagues for taking such a long hiatus from this blog. I had my hands full finishing my dissertation ;c). Done and done this past July.
That Was Then~
In early August of this year, soon after ACPA’s July Leadership Meeting (JLM), my dear friend and colleague Laura Arroyo (Elon University) and I wrote a short piece for the blog hosted by the ACPA Commission for Housing and Residential Life (#HRL4LIFE blog). The piece, Facilitators of community: Our work post Orlando, Baton Rouge, St. Paul, and Dallas, was a call to housing and residential life professionals to: 1) be ready to create space for students to vent about issues of race in America today, 2) continue to examine their own stories and privilege, and 3) work to integrate multicultural/intercultural learning opportunities into the residence hall and campus communities. Laura and I also included a number of resources to help our colleagues more deeply understand the individual and collective issues facing the academy and the country. Our ultimate goal of course, was to ask our our colleagues to prepare for all the emotions and concerns: anger, fear, loss, feeling lost, sense of safety or lack thereof, sense of community or lack thereof, and so on.
And This is Now~
It has been a difficult fall. There is no other way to say it. My office (Dean of Student guy here) has received 11 reports of bias related behavior – from sexist banners at an off campus house to racist comments shouted from passing vehicles, from anonymous social media comments to individuals saying the “N” word directly to and at students of color, from an African American student being singled in the classroom to Safe Zone signs being torn down in multiple residence halls. Yes, a difficult first month of the fall semester to be sure. According to Inside Higher Ed, what is happening on my campus is also happening at campuses across the country, which is altogether horrible.
As a professional who pins his work to his heart, I am so deeply saddened that this is the experience of so many of our students, and to be sure, so many of your students. There has been more than a time or two when I have felt completely at a loss for what to say or what to do or how to care for the survivors of these assaults and for my campus.
When thinking about writing this post, I found this in my drafts folder – a conversation with myself from almost a year ago it would seem, “Why don’t you understand these issues? Because I come from privilege and can never fully understand the lived experiences of those who have been marginalized in some way; Because it is scary stuff and it is difficult to look in the mirror; Because at times, when faced with intolerance, people become intolerant. I am ill equipped. To discuss issues of diversity, to find balance between the needs of those traditionally marginalized and learning that comes from vibrant civil discourse about the issues that come w/ a conversation on difference; developmentally appropriate without becoming thought police; a desire to be responsive and empathetic without have…”
What I realized during our conversations at this summer’s JLM, what has been holding me back from truly engaging in this work, is that I am afraid.
And as can often be true, it take others to help you find your way. First from my friend Laura, and then the brilliant words of Dr. Shawn Harper, found in the most recent NASPA Leadership Exchange magazine, “People would rather not talk about race because they do not know how, they have not had sufficient opportunities for rehearsal, and they fear that doing so might produce professionally catastrophic outcomes. Fear of being misunderstood as naïve about racial issues, or even worse, appearing to be racist, compels many white people to remain silent on racial issues. Despite their commitments to diversity and social justice, too many of our colleagues lack … racial literacy, which is the ability to speak comfortably and competently about race.”
TroySeppelt 