On behalf of the Office of Intercultural Affairs, I hope that our readers had a restful and relaxing winter break. For those of you just joining us, this blog is maintained by our fantastic work study students who have the task of writing reflective entries about race and diversity. For the most part, the entries are not edited for content nor structure. Since this blog represents the "voice" of our students, we believe in the honesty and integrity of the entries.
So, we hope you continue to follow our students as they write about their personal experiences and reflections! Happy new year, and welcome to the Spring semester!
Peace,
Liza Talusan, Director of Intercultural Affairs
Joniece is a senior at Stonehill. She is the Chair of the Diversity Committee (Student Government Association) and an active member of the community. She is a 2nd year Resident Assistant.
From Joniece:
How do stereotypes of black women effect the way we raise black girls?
People are defined by what they do and not always by who they really are. My experiences and social situations have shaped not only who I am but also who I am becoming. Over time, I have realized that society plays a major role in many of the significant decisions that I have made in my life. Due to personal experience, being a Black Lower Middle class female has its advantages and disadvantages based on the environment that I may be in at any given time. Because of my appearance I am required to answer questions that not everyone has to answer, and oftentimes I find myself defending who I am not only to people that do not look like me, but also to people that look like me.
Because I am a black woman, oftentimes other black people expect me to fall into some sort of “statistic” and have children now if not sooner. When I see people from high school or even in the past when I have met guys, one of their first questions to me is “how many kids do you have?” I feel very insulted when I hear this question. It seems as if people group all black females from Roxbury into a single category and assume that we are all pregnant or already have children. I have heard from different males that I know in Boston that girls from Roxbury have a bad reputation. It seems that it is thought that all of us are very sexually advanced and will just have sex with anyone. Since I am nothing like any of the stereotypes described I still do not like that this is sometimes the first impression that people will have of me. This could also possibly hinder someone from getting to know who I really am outside of the negative views of girls that live in proximity to me. I have found that when I initially meet other black people, presumably males, I do not immediately tell them where I live. I let them get to know who I am first and then I disclose the appropriate information. This allows people to base their views of me on my personality and they type of person that I am.
January 20, 2010
December 1, 2009
On racism in advertisements and the Diversity Poster Campaign:
Michelle says:
A lot of time we focus on racism in the United States, because we live there but there is a lot of racism worldwide. In the promotional ad for Couples Retreat the version shown in the United States has four couples, one of them happens to be a black couple. As I signed out of Yahoo! After checking my e-mail I noticed a story that caught my eye, it said “Universal's UK 'Couples Retreat' Poster Brings Cries of Racism by Removing Black Actors” and I screamed I knew it! In the ad of the UK’s Couple Retreat there were only three couples, not four and the one couple missing was the black couple. This made me think of my Nigerian friend Monisola who used to tell me she faced racist people in London when she used to go to for school vacations. The fact that the UK removed the black couple shows that the world is still very closed minded and racist. Just when you think the world is becoming better and we have one more ally more negativity seems to spread across the world. I happened to be talking about it, living as a person who can be seen as a person of color truly is a challenge. Walking into a classroom every day and not knowing whether the people there are going to judge me for my knowledge or for my skin color. A friend of mine always says she has to give double the effort and participate in all her classes so that people will begin to respect for her intelligence and not look at her as she is just part of the college because she is Latina. At times, I feel like I have to speak up to prove a point in which I am an intelligent Latina student and I made it to college based on my smarts. There are times were I do not say anything because I am not a representation of my race, and every person can be judged and viewed at their own level and I should not be trying to prove a point, because waking up every day and having to deal with the world’s most ignorant people is a work on its own.
Joniece writes about the Diversity Poster Campaign
On Tuesday November 17, 2009 the Diversity Committee held its first discussion for the Awareness Campaign. The poster campaign was developed by the original Diversity Committee and was a way for them to actively raise awareness not only about the committee but also surrounding issues of diversity and inclusiveness. The committee is still in its early stages of development and so we are working to bring about knowledge of the committee’s purpose. I was thrilled to see both familiar and unfamiliar faces in attendance at the discussion. A lot of good points were raised and the discussion could have gone on for hours.
Some topics that were heavily discussed were interracial dating, stereotypes, and the culture of Stonehill students. These discussion points either caught someone’s eye, or gave the people in attendance a lot to speak of.
We were initially having issues with the topics expressed in some of the posters one dealing with explaining diversity to a blind person. It was brought to our attention and some may have felt that the poster “had a negative connotation about what blind people can comprehend and understand simply because they are visually impaired. Those who are visually impaired can certainly understand and interpret diversity in their own way without someone having to describe it to them. The question makes it sound like blind people are “less than” or not as smart as someone who is not visually impaired.” Although this is very true, some of the committee members felt that the question was given a negative connotation and it is up to the reader to think about how the question may make them feel. We were definitely not implying that the blind are less than in any way. We were more thinking about the racial aspect to the question. Many people see race as a color so how do you really describe this to someone without giving them examples or representation to support your ideas.
Michelle says:
A lot of time we focus on racism in the United States, because we live there but there is a lot of racism worldwide. In the promotional ad for Couples Retreat the version shown in the United States has four couples, one of them happens to be a black couple. As I signed out of Yahoo! After checking my e-mail I noticed a story that caught my eye, it said “Universal's UK 'Couples Retreat' Poster Brings Cries of Racism by Removing Black Actors” and I screamed I knew it! In the ad of the UK’s Couple Retreat there were only three couples, not four and the one couple missing was the black couple. This made me think of my Nigerian friend Monisola who used to tell me she faced racist people in London when she used to go to for school vacations. The fact that the UK removed the black couple shows that the world is still very closed minded and racist. Just when you think the world is becoming better and we have one more ally more negativity seems to spread across the world. I happened to be talking about it, living as a person who can be seen as a person of color truly is a challenge. Walking into a classroom every day and not knowing whether the people there are going to judge me for my knowledge or for my skin color. A friend of mine always says she has to give double the effort and participate in all her classes so that people will begin to respect for her intelligence and not look at her as she is just part of the college because she is Latina. At times, I feel like I have to speak up to prove a point in which I am an intelligent Latina student and I made it to college based on my smarts. There are times were I do not say anything because I am not a representation of my race, and every person can be judged and viewed at their own level and I should not be trying to prove a point, because waking up every day and having to deal with the world’s most ignorant people is a work on its own.
Joniece writes about the Diversity Poster Campaign
On Tuesday November 17, 2009 the Diversity Committee held its first discussion for the Awareness Campaign. The poster campaign was developed by the original Diversity Committee and was a way for them to actively raise awareness not only about the committee but also surrounding issues of diversity and inclusiveness. The committee is still in its early stages of development and so we are working to bring about knowledge of the committee’s purpose. I was thrilled to see both familiar and unfamiliar faces in attendance at the discussion. A lot of good points were raised and the discussion could have gone on for hours.
Some topics that were heavily discussed were interracial dating, stereotypes, and the culture of Stonehill students. These discussion points either caught someone’s eye, or gave the people in attendance a lot to speak of.
We were initially having issues with the topics expressed in some of the posters one dealing with explaining diversity to a blind person. It was brought to our attention and some may have felt that the poster “had a negative connotation about what blind people can comprehend and understand simply because they are visually impaired. Those who are visually impaired can certainly understand and interpret diversity in their own way without someone having to describe it to them. The question makes it sound like blind people are “less than” or not as smart as someone who is not visually impaired.” Although this is very true, some of the committee members felt that the question was given a negative connotation and it is up to the reader to think about how the question may make them feel. We were definitely not implying that the blind are less than in any way. We were more thinking about the racial aspect to the question. Many people see race as a color so how do you really describe this to someone without giving them examples or representation to support your ideas.
November 8, 2009
What do you think about being a Stonehill student, the judicial system, and "good" hair?
Blayne Lopes says:
Who is considered a Stonehill student? This topic came up while conversing with another ALANA Brothers and Sisters (ABS) Leader because I told him I am not a fan of Stonehill students. Stonehill is sometimes referred to as “Clonehill.” This is because in the past everyone here has dressed similarly and has come from the same geographic region. I think that there is some truth to this stereotype.
In all honesty I realize that I do not feel like a Stonehill student—even though I am a fully enrolled student. I do not wear UGZ, dress in designer clothes, have rich or upper middle-class parents, and never really felt like I could blend into the crowd. My brown skin marks me as different and I have different experiences at Stonehill due to this fact.
It is not unusual to talk to my friends of color about the white majority at Stonehill and we often share many upsetting experiences. Usually we referred to the perpetrators of discriminatory statements or actions (both intentional and unintentional) as “Stonehill students.” A comment usually made during these conversations is that Stonehill students “just don’t get it.” “It” being our experiences as students of color at Stonehill. Not that the white majority will truly ever know what it feels like, but many do not even know our negative experiences exist.
For the most part I love Stonehill and the opportunities that exist here. Many of my interactions with faculty and professors have been positive, but again, there have been many times where I have felt like an outsider on this campus.
I am left with the question:
What does it mean to be a brown ALANA student at Stonehill College?
Michelle Tineo says:
After reading the Article titled Pennsylvania Overturns Many Youths’ Convictions (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/30/us/30judges.html), it made me realize the lengths some people will go to make a quick buck. The article was about how a judge put many youth in detention centers, many of them innocent, for money. This judge has taken months away from these teenagers lives and gave them a criminal record. The charges have now been overturned, but imagine what how these charges effected the teens in the first place. Being that there are higher numbers of people of color in prisons and detention centers, I cannot help but think this is another example of institutional racism.
I have actually seen an episode of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit where this same situation was happening and I can’t believe it is happening in real life. I cannot help but think that there are other judges out there doing the same and have not yet been caught yet. How many other judges have ruined the lives of hundreds and even thousands of juveniles for money? There is a clear abuse of power in this case and it is at the cost of the lives of youth of color. With this type of thing going on, it is no wonder that some people of color are suspicious of people in the justice system such as police officers. I think they also abuse their power especially when they do things like running red lights to stop people at the end of the month to fulfill their traffic violation quota. And it makes me question who they pull over. Is it mostly people of color?
The abuse of power that happens in the world makes me even more terrified of ever doing anything illegal and even more ever being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Punishment does not seem very forgiving for a person of color. Something like this could ruin the rest of my life. People stereotype people who have been to jail as people that will never change and who are not worthy. I hope I never have to deal with these types of situations.
Joniece Leonard says:
What is good hair?
My definition of good hair is hair that looks and makes a person feel good. People should be happy with the hair they are given and wear it with pride. I do not even like using the term good hair because that would imply that there is bad hair. A hairstyle can look bad but that does not necessarily mean that a person has bad hair. I have come to the conclusion that good or bad hair depends on how the person feels about themselves and the hair that they wear.
Some people go through extremes to change their hair. I myself cannot recall the last time I saw my hair without a relaxer. Since I can remember I have been going to the salon with my mom on Saturday mornings and getting my hair straightened biweekly. For me, this has become common and going to the salon is routine. My hair usually looks good and makes me feel good. I wear my hair with pride.
In the past I have tried many different hair styles. I can recall once wearing extensions in the form of braids during the summer because it was easier to manage since I swam so often. I also remember having micro braids when I was 16 and loving how easy it was to just wake up and go without thinking about doing anything to my hair. For prom I wore tracks and hated it and took them out immediately. These days I prefer to just wear my hair. I do not like anything added to it, I like to be able to just scratch my head, or have someone play in my hair with no worries. The length of my hair is not that important to me. I have cut my hair into bobs, wore a bang, and have had my hair long. The style is not usually important because I feel like I look good, and feel good. My hairdresser always talks to me about the importance of hair. If someone is dressed up and their hair looks a mess then that can bring down their entire appearance. I prefer my hair relaxed and straight. No matter the style, ones hair should just look neat and clean and make them feel good about their appearance.
October 30, 2009
Work Study Insight
Here's what Joniece has to say:
What’s so funny about Big Black Woman?
This topic has always been a question that I have had in mind. Why must a large black woman be the butt of many jokes in television and film? Seeing that black people are already marginalized as it is, being big and being a woman seems to be worse to the media. These women are usually portrayed as being ugly, mean, or rude, but are there not other types of people that also fit this trend.
I myself am a “Big Black Woman” and I do not see myself as any of these things. I am a very smart, intelligent, and beautiful woman who takes pride in who I am. I also have a group of friends that would be considered big and black but they share similar qualities to me. I am aware of how people may stereotype me and although this does not matter to me, there are many girls may age or even older that may have lower self esteem due to how society views us.
I have been taught to appreciate who I am and the body that I have and I know that if I am not happy with then I could do something to change it. In the past I have been with friends of mine and a guy would commit and say to us, "you are pretty for a dark skinned girl" or "you are pretty for a big girl." What exactly are they trying to say by this? Is this supposed to be a compliment? Is he respectfully trying to insult me? I do not understand it at all. How about "you are very pretty" and leave it at that?
I guess society has taught him that maybe finding us attractive is not such a good thing. Whatever the case may be, I know that I am a beautiful black woman and I am very proud of who I am and what I look like.
Elyssa says:
When I first saw the ad for “Latino in America”, I was actually quite intrigued. I was interested in what the media was going to do to portray the fastest growing minority in America. I thought it was going to be stories of hope and success with some emphasis on hard times and people’s struggle to achieve the American Dream. However, according to the reviews on Racialicious, I didn’t really miss out on much.
From what I read it sounded like CNN and Soledad O’Brien did a horrible job and just focused a lot on the negative stories. Indeed from what I read it seemed they just played up many of the stereotypes you hear about Latinos. I honestly thought the series was going to be about how Latinos are changing the face and shape of the American culture. I mean one of the ad’s slogans was “Instead of keeping up with the Jones’, try keeping up with the Garcia’s.” I guess that was a little misleading because according to Arturo R. Garcia from Racialicious, “Most of the people featured were not ‘changing’ their communities- they were being victimized by them. They were pregnant, suicidal (or pregnant and suicidal), caught in an immigration raid, losing their cultural roots, facing an uphill job struggle or isolated in their churches.” Yup, that definitely sounds like stereotyping to me.
You know this kind of bothers me that they can’t do a quality show about being Latino in America without bringing up so many of the negative stereotypes. Why can’t they just focus on the stories of those who overcame them, not the ones who fall into them? I don’t know, maybe my expectations were too high. Or maybe I don’t really know what I’m talking about since I haven’t seen it. All I know is that if it’s anything like what I read about then I don’t want to see it.
Antonio writes:
I had an interesting conversation the other day. I met someone at Stonehill (a college employee) and we got to chatting. In our conversation he asked me where I was from, to which I responded “New York”. He asked “Where in New York?”, and when I responded “The Bronx”, he had a look of surprise. He said “The Bronx? Really?? Isn’t it really dangerous there? I’d be afraid to go there. They’d look at me and shoot me.” I responded, “Like most places, the Bronx has some parts that are dangerous, and it also has some parts that are really nice like Riverdale.” What shocked me most was his next response. “If Riverdale is such a nice place what’s it doing in the Bronx. Shouldn’t its own separate place?”
I hate that I am sometimes immediately judged by where I live. While this person may not have necessarily made any personal judgments on my character based on this, I have met people who have in the past. In the beginning of my sophomore year in high school, I was having a conversation with a new student about where we were from. When she found out I was from the Bronx she had an expression of disbelief. “You’re not from the Bronx, look at you. You speak properly, you dress nicely…where are you really from?”. There is just this contant stereotype that is perpetuated about people from a certain place. According to this student, everyone from the Bronx dressed poorly and couldn’t speak proper english. I know from talking to people here that they too have gone through it coming from Brockton or certain parts of Boston. It’s really disappointing that certain judgments are automatically made just on learning where you are from. This isn’t restricted to communities with reputations for being dangerous or low income, it can apply to others as well. I guarantee if I had said “I’m from the Hamptons”, the opposite would be assumed of me. “He must live in a big house and have lots of money. He’s probably spoiled and doesn’t know what its like to work for something.” I have friends on both ends of the spectrum, from both higher income families and lower income families, and all of them have told me of how they have to fight stereotypes before anyone even knows them. This is something that has to change. If we can’t even get past something as trivial as where we are from, how can we expect to begin addressing larger and more pressing matters.
What’s so funny about Big Black Woman?
This topic has always been a question that I have had in mind. Why must a large black woman be the butt of many jokes in television and film? Seeing that black people are already marginalized as it is, being big and being a woman seems to be worse to the media. These women are usually portrayed as being ugly, mean, or rude, but are there not other types of people that also fit this trend.
I myself am a “Big Black Woman” and I do not see myself as any of these things. I am a very smart, intelligent, and beautiful woman who takes pride in who I am. I also have a group of friends that would be considered big and black but they share similar qualities to me. I am aware of how people may stereotype me and although this does not matter to me, there are many girls may age or even older that may have lower self esteem due to how society views us.
I have been taught to appreciate who I am and the body that I have and I know that if I am not happy with then I could do something to change it. In the past I have been with friends of mine and a guy would commit and say to us, "you are pretty for a dark skinned girl" or "you are pretty for a big girl." What exactly are they trying to say by this? Is this supposed to be a compliment? Is he respectfully trying to insult me? I do not understand it at all. How about "you are very pretty" and leave it at that?
I guess society has taught him that maybe finding us attractive is not such a good thing. Whatever the case may be, I know that I am a beautiful black woman and I am very proud of who I am and what I look like.
Elyssa says:
When I first saw the ad for “Latino in America”, I was actually quite intrigued. I was interested in what the media was going to do to portray the fastest growing minority in America. I thought it was going to be stories of hope and success with some emphasis on hard times and people’s struggle to achieve the American Dream. However, according to the reviews on Racialicious, I didn’t really miss out on much.
From what I read it sounded like CNN and Soledad O’Brien did a horrible job and just focused a lot on the negative stories. Indeed from what I read it seemed they just played up many of the stereotypes you hear about Latinos. I honestly thought the series was going to be about how Latinos are changing the face and shape of the American culture. I mean one of the ad’s slogans was “Instead of keeping up with the Jones’, try keeping up with the Garcia’s.” I guess that was a little misleading because according to Arturo R. Garcia from Racialicious, “Most of the people featured were not ‘changing’ their communities- they were being victimized by them. They were pregnant, suicidal (or pregnant and suicidal), caught in an immigration raid, losing their cultural roots, facing an uphill job struggle or isolated in their churches.” Yup, that definitely sounds like stereotyping to me.
You know this kind of bothers me that they can’t do a quality show about being Latino in America without bringing up so many of the negative stereotypes. Why can’t they just focus on the stories of those who overcame them, not the ones who fall into them? I don’t know, maybe my expectations were too high. Or maybe I don’t really know what I’m talking about since I haven’t seen it. All I know is that if it’s anything like what I read about then I don’t want to see it.
Antonio writes:
I had an interesting conversation the other day. I met someone at Stonehill (a college employee) and we got to chatting. In our conversation he asked me where I was from, to which I responded “New York”. He asked “Where in New York?”, and when I responded “The Bronx”, he had a look of surprise. He said “The Bronx? Really?? Isn’t it really dangerous there? I’d be afraid to go there. They’d look at me and shoot me.” I responded, “Like most places, the Bronx has some parts that are dangerous, and it also has some parts that are really nice like Riverdale.” What shocked me most was his next response. “If Riverdale is such a nice place what’s it doing in the Bronx. Shouldn’t its own separate place?”
I hate that I am sometimes immediately judged by where I live. While this person may not have necessarily made any personal judgments on my character based on this, I have met people who have in the past. In the beginning of my sophomore year in high school, I was having a conversation with a new student about where we were from. When she found out I was from the Bronx she had an expression of disbelief. “You’re not from the Bronx, look at you. You speak properly, you dress nicely…where are you really from?”. There is just this contant stereotype that is perpetuated about people from a certain place. According to this student, everyone from the Bronx dressed poorly and couldn’t speak proper english. I know from talking to people here that they too have gone through it coming from Brockton or certain parts of Boston. It’s really disappointing that certain judgments are automatically made just on learning where you are from. This isn’t restricted to communities with reputations for being dangerous or low income, it can apply to others as well. I guarantee if I had said “I’m from the Hamptons”, the opposite would be assumed of me. “He must live in a big house and have lots of money. He’s probably spoiled and doesn’t know what its like to work for something.” I have friends on both ends of the spectrum, from both higher income families and lower income families, and all of them have told me of how they have to fight stereotypes before anyone even knows them. This is something that has to change. If we can’t even get past something as trivial as where we are from, how can we expect to begin addressing larger and more pressing matters.
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