BY NOW, first years have gotten a good grasp on what life is like here at the University. They're used to their enormous introductory lecture classes, dining in O-Hill without silverware and riding UTS to and from each and every destination. Many of them are even beginning to realize that the grade isn't always made in the huge lecture hall, but among the few students with whom they share that pivotal point of intellectual discourse: discussion section. Still, among a good number of our entering student population a certain anxiety is about to spread, if it hasn't done so already.
For the first time, many entering African-American, Asian-American and Hispanic or Latino students may find themselves sitting in class as the only minority student. Among a group of their peers -- many of whom do not look like them, speak like them or share their cultural or political viewpoints -- these minority students must come to an understanding that they are now standing out in the class, even if they do not want to be.
Although everyone has an opportunity to walk around Grounds and notice the unique cultural diversity of today's student population, life in discussion section can prove to be a totally different story when you are the sole minority. Most times, with the limited number of students in discussion -- or in a comparably sized first-year seminar course -- the class makeup will reflect less the ideals of student and intellectual diversity and more the reality of this University's cultural homogeneity -- because only one or two minority voices can be heard.
Class homogeneity often can put students of color into a most perplexing corner. As the sole minorities, these students often are looked unfairly upon to act as the voice of their race, and this form of in-class stereotyping can prove to be a disservice to both the minority student and to the class as a whole.
Many white students in discussion sections may have never been in a small class with someone of a different race, let alone spoken with them at such an intimate level. White students oftentimes can visualize this minority student -- positively assessing their contribution to the discussion group -- however subconsciously and negatively assessing their words as though they are representative of an entire community.
The idea that one individual has the ability to vocalize on behalf of an entire race or group is something small discussion sections can actively perpetuate if facilitators are not aware of how to stress the individuation of their students and their students' viewpoints. Less experienced TA's let these student perceptions of one another slide when they should be addressed. Minority students don't come in thinking they have to speak on behalf of an entire community, and this academic and cultural phenomenon is something that can lead less exposed students, black or white, to believe that the viewpoints shared by one minority student are the views shared by all.
Imagine, after raising your hand in discussion, that a predominantly white class of students turns to you and awaits to hear your words -- as if your comments are the view of an entire ethnic population which you somehow now represent. In classes all around Grounds, Muslim students are expected to be abreast of all of the nuances of jihad and turmoil in the Middle East, black students are expected to know all about hip-hop culture and the perils of American oppression and ghetto-ization, and Asian-American students are thought of as having intimate knowledge of dynastic cultures, American imperialism and alternative faiths. All of sudden, these students are thrown into the political arena of presenting the voice of an entire race of people -- and many students will look to them as if they are supposed to.
Even if these sole minority students don't want to accept the impossible task of portraying a collective people's viewpoint, other students may get into the habit of expecting them to. Over the course of the semester, white students might begin to believe that everyone who looks like a minority student must think like that minority student.
By mid-October in discussion sections, incoming minority students celebrating the flowering nature of their arrival as an individual at an institution of higher education must come to terms with the idea that they now have been asked to speak on behalf of an entire population that is mostly missing from this intellectual exchange.
This stereotyping is especially prevalent in courses where social, political and economic philosophies are traded from student to student with the ease of a baton, as well as in courses where students reflect on their past experiences, childhood, families and the situations in which they grew up. Now, on one hand, these individual students have the ability to dispel myths and rumors that other students may have had about particular races, and educate others on cultural values and mores. However, these same students can perpetuate myths, reinforce stereotypes and continue to build walls that may prevent open communication between different races and creeds. In class, TAs and professors should stress the individuation of their students' viewpoints, and perhaps engage them in issues of collective communal thought and evidence they may have to back it up.
That is not to say that thenotion of an individual's ability to speak on behalf of a community isn't also perpetuated outside the classroom as well. Large groups of students rarely interact with one another in social settings outside class, where it has become either a faux pas or deliberate cultural inquiry to attend an event held by an ethnic or cultural group other than your own. It is common for many students who only see minorities in the classroom to walk away thinking that because one person acts in a certain manner or participates in an activity, that all minorities do.In that manner, the University isn't as diverse as it presents itself in the prospectus, and the surface discussion students engage in during their section meetings encourages broad-sweeping generalizations in opposition to true intellectual diversity.
There is no doubt that the University has a gallery of traditions that are as old as its columns and architecture, but in today's classroom, diversity -- and a complete understanding of where those diverse viewpoints come from and what they reflect -- is just as important. Individuals cannot vocalize the viewpoint of an entire race not only because they are painting an inaccurate picture, but also because the idea that one individual could be able to represent an entire ethnic group is absurd. TA's and professors need to be more aware that individual students are presenting personal information that may give cultural context, but cannot reflect how Asian-Americans, African-Americans or Hispanics generally feel. The only way students are going to understand more about one another is through intermingling socially, by exploring diverse cultures outside the classroom, and by engaging in topics that truly will expand their intellectual discussions.
Part of this institution's mission should be to promote a diverse cultural and intellectual climate among its students, but that climate will never be felt until there is more than one student of color in a discussion section, and more than one voice reflecting a particular culture or heritage.
(Kazz Alexander Pinkard's column appears Tuesdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at kpinkard@cavalierdaily.com.)
Read More
PATEL: Personal development courses support students beyond the gradebook
By Heer Patel | YesterdayThe University must rethink its approach to education beyond traditional major-specific requirements and mandate personal development courses.
EDITORIAL: Commercialization threatens U.Va.’s educational mission
By Editorial Board | 2 days agoAfter all, measuring the University’s worth in terms of accrued capital, operational efficiency and numerical rankings molds this space into just another cookie-cutter institution.
YOUNIS: Why every U.Va. student should say yes to English
By Ayat Younis | 6 days agoEvery student at the University, regardless of their primary field of study, can professionally and academically benefit from engaging with the English department.
