More than Race

We can't pretend that race is just about skin color any more than we can pretend that all white people are alike. Culture and class is where people clash. My nephew is a freshman at Ohio State, and one of the biggest adjustment he's had to make is to get used to the diversity...of the white people. It turns out all white people aren't like what he's used to. Race is, however, so visible we can't ignore it. Being inclusive means more than admitting minority students to an institution; it means the majority need to learn to be inclusive; in fact, to go out of their way to be socially inclusive and to know that their discomfort means they are headed in the right direction.
I think it's particularly important to visit orientations for student of color as the authors suggest (102). This is where they get their first impressions and it's not always good. One of my African American students told me--through an essay, and then a conversation--that at the orientation she attended, students were told that they needed to work extra hard because professors expect them to fail. She internalized this as "professors want African American students to fail." Either way, it wasn't a very positive message. This upset me because I want my students to succeed, yet I was being prejudged based on my race. I was glad she revealed this because it helped me to understand her initial resistant attitude toward me was based on this perception. Why would such a negative message be presented to students at a time when they are already feeling vulnerable? Shouldn't there be an orientation program that encourages all students to get to know one another?