If I walked onto a campus, the administrators would say the campus thrives to provide inclusivity and diversity. If I browsed through their pamphlets and website I would find the same message. But, if I decided to just roam around the entire campus, I would know that that is not the case. I could see the bodies of those attending the campus, typically white students.
If it is a campus with more students of color than white students, I would realize that authenticity is not at play here. The way they are dressed might be their way of assimilating to what is seen as the correct way of dressing and not call attention. It is the way of feeling safe in a society that lives by a Western way of being, through their way of speaking, dressing, behaving, etc.
This would be the culture that has transcended into a world phenomenon. The only culture that is truly practiced in our college/education system. There is no room for anyone to wear something that they would typically wear in the comfort and safety of their own home.
The walls and art of the college campus do not display any diversity, they only display a repetitive message of who the campus is supposed to be for.
The system, the building, the services are for those that feel safe seeking them. For those that feel safe undergoing the journey that education has for them. Diversity is not at play, it does not include race, gender, religion, ability, nationality, etc. It is a one-sided experience.
Shouldn’t it be the campus’s responsibility to meet the students where they are at? To learn about those who are in the community (and globally) to provide tools for success and safety? It is not the role of an education department or social work department to briefly tell that to their students and move on. It is the job of the entire campus to be informed in how to help an undocumented student.
It is not the sole responsibility of a student group and a few faculty members to take on such responsibility.
To provide true diversity and inclusion, then people need to commit to reaching out to others, truly learning about others, and providing those services and education.
It is not OK to simply say "I do not get paid enough to do that, so I won’t invest in the extra effort." Well, it is not OK to not to provide each student what is needed in their experience.
It is not OK that their life is not validated.
A diverse and inclusive campus should allow people to both inhale and exhale. It feels that many are stuck at the stage of inhaling the campus air. Space is not provided for them to exhale their beliefs and experiences. To exhale their needs. A student needs to be able to breathe the same air they would once they return to their home.
They need their life validated as those middle class, cis, white, able bodies.
