What I've Learned

I know we've all said this at one point or another, but I really enjoyed this class. I feel that I was somewhat aware of my surroundings and things that were going on, but now I feel like I make it more of a point to look for things. I'll be the first to admit that I'm still very naive about a lot of things. This class has helped to open my eyes more and make me realize that the issues of our past our still very much present. This week while walking around for my section of the diversity audit I was able to draw more conclusions or make more assumptions about my observations after all we've talked about in class. I won't go into detail at this time because I don't want to take anything away from my presentation.

I feel that this class will greatly benefit me when it comes to dealing with students in the future. I think now I'll be more prone to think twice about what they might be going through in life, especially if it's a student from a different background than myself. Before this class I would have been one of the white kids in the sample group thinking our campus had a great campus climate and was open to diversity, not saying that it's not. But now I know that my perceptions might not be entirely correct. As evident by many of our reading, student development still has a long way to go to make everyone feel completely welcomed on college campuses around the world. More than likely it will never be perfect, but at least we're trying to move in the right direction by putting our best foot forward.

It's Been A While

My apologies for lack of blogging.  I have no excuse other than I just haven't been doing it.  

I can't believe that this semester is almost over.  Where did all the time go?  

On to the readings.  This week I found it hard to stay focused on the readings.  I'm not sure why.  I guess I just had a hard time finding them as interesting as previous readings, which is odd since most of these readings seemed to deal with actually implementing things we've been reading about in class and trying to make campuses more inclusive.  I did like Understanding Leadership Strategies.  I feel like the sample obtained for this study was one that was truly diverse.  I like that 50% of those that actually were interviewed were people of color and that women made up a good portion of interviewees as well.  It made me believe more in the study since they made it a point to really diversify and find programs that have tried embracing diversity.  I feel like most of our earlier readings focused on colleges or universities that would have an obvious outcome when it came to measuring diversity or campus climate.  For instance, when you survey the minority and a PWI you know that those surveyed are going to feel negatively about the racial climate.

Another topic that seemed to keep popping up was that of the role of affirmative action and the admittance of students of color to college based on their race/ethnicity.  To me this would seem like a double edged sword.  While I believe that a student population should be diverse I also think that a University should still be able to have standards that they wish for students to meet.  I'm sure this is a hot topic for debate but I can't say that I strongly support one side over the other.  

On a complete side note...as we have all mentioned at one point or the other, being in this class has made me look at things in a different way.  The other day I was at the UNT bookstore.  There have been numerous occasions where I've been there and seen people leaving that set off the security system near the entrances.  More often than not the sales people don't even acknowledge the sound and if they do they give a courtesy wave to those walking out that implies, "it's cool we know you didn't take anything."  The other day I was at the bookstore and this occurred.  A young, African American gentleman set off the alarm.  Upon doing so an older sales associate, who happened to be a Caucasian female, rushed over to him and immediately questioned what he was doing.  The guy informed her that he had nothing on him that would make him set off the alarm.  The lady continued to question him and even asked to search through his bag and show his pockets.  This just took me a little by surprise, especially since I've seen students in the same situation be totally disregarded.  So it just made me wonder if this was an act of racial profiling or if the sales associate had a good reason for her actions.