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Confronting Ignorance and Prejudice in Public Forums

November 28, 2011, 3:07 pm

This post is co-authored with Mayra Olivares-Urueta, a Ph.D. student at the University of North Texas. Mayra is pursuing research related to the involvement of Latino families in all aspects of the college process as well as increasing the number of underrepresented students who complete allied-health degrees.

I met Mayra at a national conference a few weeks ago. Because she is a graduate student, it was one of her first academic conferences. She was excited, eager, and thrilled to meet people who cared about similar issues. Unfortunately, during one of the conference sessions, which focused on the impact that family has on minority students and their college aspiration and attainment goals, Mayra came face to face with prejudice against students just like her. The discussant commenting on papers in the session told the audience that (paraphrasing) ‘when we work with those students, we can’t make them want to go to college even if we really want them to.’ She then added, ‘If they want to go out and get pregnant after high-school graduation then we should just let them.’ Along with Mayra, many of the young students of color and assistant professors in the room were deeply offended by the speaker’s comments. They were “those” students in the speaker’s remarks. Mayra had a lot of thoughts and responses running through her head but she was fearful of speaking out publicly. We thought that it might be useful for others if we teased out some of the issues involved in the situation.

First, how should Ph.D. students and non-tenured faculty members address derogatory and offensive comments made by more senior colleagues and potential employers without sabotaging their professional dreams? The unevenness of power makes these situations intensely difficult and junior scholars need to decide how much of a risk they are willing to take. When senior scholars are present, they must push back against these types of comments as they hold substantially more power. These offensive comments should be challenged, discussed, and those saying them should be asked to provide evidence.

We also ask why it is still acceptable to see communities of color as deficient and to voice these negative comments in front of the very people that they deeply offend or to anyone else? Do the speakers of the comments realize the ramifications of their comments? Do they understand what it’s like to have those in the majority disparage entire groups of people and give up on their educational aspirations? Part of success is having people believe in you and see you as having the potential for success.

We wondered why practitioners and scholars advance their children’s goals and dreams while leaving the children they claim to serve through education to fend for themselves? If they pushed and nurtured the students (especially those who are underrepresented and underserved) even half as much as they push their own children it would make a world of difference for so many students, families, and communities. It is imperative for researchers and practitioners to have high aspirations and expectations for all students, especially those who are underserved and underrepresented. In order for these students to succeed it is crucial that the education community rid itself of its deficit lens so we can see the potential in all students.

This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged academic conferences, Marybeth Gasman, Mayra Olivares-Urueta, minority students, prejudice. Bookmark the permalink.

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mbelvadi

Maybe you should title this “confronting prejudice” but maybe not include “ignorance”. According to the data provided at http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/USTPtrends.pdf , in 2006 non-Hispanic women ages 15-19 got pregnant at a rate of 44 per 1,000, but Hispanic women did so at a rate of 126 per 1,000. So the discussant’s comment, rudely put though it was, has an element of fact behind the implication that this is a problem of more significance for Hispanic (“those women”) than other women. And to take the person’s choice of words on face value, what do you actually dispute? That Hispanic young women who choose to have babies (and in a country where abortion is legal, every woman *chooses* to carry a pregnancy to term), they should NOT be allowed to do so? Are you advocating some kind of forced contraception/sterilization program? One appropriate response for Mayra might have been to ignore the tone and concentrate on responding to the underlying demographic and policy points contained in the comment (and maybe she did so).
hotice

As a person that actually has had to live this daily–that is, daily over the course of decades–with this type of mentality, I’ve successfully proposed beginning by challenging the SPIRIT and mind behind the words. Challenge the fact that the negativity that you hear is paired with the words “those people”, and bring up the similarity that it holds with the words uttered by proponents of slavery, of the “three-fifths” law, of segregation, and such.

Bring up the disparity between the so-called solutions the speaker proposes for “those” people, and the fact that his/her own family and friends would never hear the speaker insert their names into those same categories.

There also must be a freedom from self-concern, a mind free of the “fear tools” upon which people like this speaker depend (in order to maintain their security as they abuse their words and position).
sshpdallas

The problem is not whether anyone group of women in this country should or shouldn’t get pregnant, it’s whether the services and help needed for them to get to college and achieve their educational goals are taken away just because they choose to have a family while they go to school. That is the problem. Don’t write someone off because they choose to have a child while pursuing their education.
sshpdallas

Actually the problem is much bigger than that, but we’ll focus on pregnancy since that is what mbelvadi chose to focus on.
ruth13l

I thank the authors for bringing this up because situations like this one need to be brought to light. I was present when the discussant made these comments, the discussant also mentioned that Latinos don’t make education a priority as much as “us.” Who is “us”? As mentioned in the article, we are “those” families and students that the discussant was talking about, but we are also part of this academic world. Along with the comments, what was also disheartening to me were the head nods of agreement from some of the audience members when the discussant was making very stereotypical statements. This showed me that the discussant is not the exception, but that prejudice and racism are alive and well in academia. In that moment, this situation of being in a national conference, faced with comments like this made me question how it is that we should respond to these situations. What is generally accepted? I honestly didn’t know. How might I have reacted if this was not an academic conference and these comments were made? The comments by the discussant are indicative of power relationships that exist in academia and also the invisibility many of us feel in spaces such as this. The discussant chose not to acknowledge our realities and our presence, and instead helped to further stereotypes of communities of color. Once again, tremendous thanks to the authors, I really believe this is a step in the right direction for challenging this type of “academic” thinking.
katisumas

There are a growing number of states where abortion is almost impossible to get or is completely unavailable (look up the various regulations to that effect)

There have been laws proposed in several states that outlaw all abortions, even in cases of rape and incest or to save a mother’s life (this even when the fetus is not viable and perhaps even dead). The constitutional amendment in Mississippi that was just defeated would have made all miscarriages subject to a criminal investigation (and was supported by people who claim they are for a “smaller government”!).

There are several states where there is a push to outlaw even most form of contraceptives. Actually most of the time of the House in DC has been spent passing laws that duplicate the 1976 law forbidding the government from helping pay for abortions (through Medicaid, for instance) and voting in addition for yet more laws that would make abortion even more difficult to obtain by poor and middle class people.

If you had followed the news just a little bit you’d be aware that abortion is de facto no longer a choice for many women and it probably will no longer be a choice de jure for all women when the present supreme court revises Roe v. Wade.

And aren’t you concerned about the attacks on Planned Parenthood and forced closure of some of their clinics which provide gynecological care not only to poor women but also to middle class women lacking health insurance coverage? Planned Parenthood charges on a sliding scale and abortions only account for 3% if their services and is limited to only some clinics (the Planned Parenthood in my town doesn’t provide abortion, still women going in to get routine gynecological care, including the pre-natal care that can prevent miscarriages, have to walk through a gauntlet of foaming at the mouth goons daring to call themselve “pro-life”.

By claiming mistakenly that all pregnancies are the result of choice and at the same time not being aware of what is happening to not only that right to chose but even to the right to use contraceptive, you are propounding a “damned if you do and damned if you don’t” policy. Oh and particularly since sex ed in schools now only teach abstinence so if a girl AND a boy conceive a fetus out of sheer ignorance they are faced with huge billboards depicting fetuses as babies and advocating against abortion. Do you really think that in the present day political context, it is morally and financially easy to “chose” to have an abortion?

Finally, as Sshpdallas points out, being a mother is NOT an obstacle to getting a higher education. Actually being a parent (male or female) matures you so very fast that you’re going to take better advantage of what college has to offer instead of wasting time partying.
katisumas

So true and well put!
jffoster

Thanks for the data reference, Mbelvadi.

Note that to the extent the comments were based on data and not “ignorance”, they were not a matter of prejudice. Postjudice perhaps?
Guest

I applaud Mexico for leading the way on abortion law. There are several provinces in Mexico now where abortion is appropriately defined as murder, and those who engage in the procedure will be sent to rot in jail where they belong.
sabio

mbelvadi is absolutely wrong to allude that “…one appropriate response for Mayra might have been to ignore the tone and concentrate on responding to the underlying demographic and policy points contained in the comment…” That’s exactly the problem! Forms of gender discrimination represented by sarcasm, jokes, and throwaway remarks must be confronted. In higher education, we must acknowledge that faculty, especially those with tenure, are largely white and male. As an emerging scholar myself, I am proud of Mayra for, one, not ignoring her instinct that something felt wrong, and two, for not ignoring what lies beneath the surface, embedded in the core of our professional organization, where unwelcoming environments are nourished by practices of discrimination and the views of a dominant majority.
Guest

Here is a military dictum which I would like to adapt slightly for this discussion: “One cannot show discipline in large tasks but not in small tasks. There is one kind of discipline which must be evident in all tasks.”

Replace “discipline” with “courage.” I think the key problem I see with the article above is the presumption that Latinos in junior faculty positions must be careful to protect their careers yet they do not want to feel offended. If you begin with the attitude that you are powerless and someone else is a towering god who controls your destiny, then you invite mistreatment.

In the scenario listed above, I would address the senior or powerful scholar the same way I would address anyone: Look at the facts and refute him logically and calmly. If he tries to lash back at you, then stand your ground. Get a lawyer when it’s time to go for review.

One of the most powerful professors in my current department demeaned me based on my Latino origins, bisexual orientation, and military affiliation for three years. I blogged about him by name and hung a letter of protest on my door — right across from his office. He rallied people around him and got my blog shut down, then got himself placed on my tenure review committee. I filed a complaint with the Equity and Diversity Office, and when they were moving slowly, I sent clear emails to the dean and chair about the situation. Failing to get a response from them, I filed a complaint with Sacramento and opened an investigation through the Whistleblower hotline. I wrote to gay organizations and Latino organization for assistance, but they were useless because I am conservative and Christian so they wouldn’t help me. I went to two conservative watchdog groups and they did give me assistance. My chair told me to take down the letter from my door, which I told him I would not do until the senior faculty member took down the flyers promoting his offensive antiwar play with a protagonist almost explicitly based on my life.

I am not going to say this defiance was easy. It was gut-wrenching and painful, and I ended up gaining 30 pounds from stress eating over one semester. But I did not back down. I followed procedures and relied on reason and logical argumentation and professionalism. The hardest part was seeing Chicano Studies faculty and gay colleagues –even some who got themselves quoted in local papers praising Dan Choi for improving the lives of queer people in the service — hang me out to dry while I had to come to work for eight weeks with over fifteen flyers mocking me hung in a thirty-pace walk from the elevator to my office, and nowhere else on the entire campus.

One gay man in higher administration finally showed up with a lesbian friend and they forced the posters to come down. Two months later, after excruciating showdowns, the university removed the professor from my review committee in order to avoid litigation.

You cannot complain about feeling offended and then at the same time expect to get all the professional ease and benefits that come with pandering to people in power. You must show courage in great and small ways, and accept the stress and tribulation, or else you must be cowardly and ingratiating in great and small ways, and accept the humiliation and powerlessness.

Ciao.
squacky

I’m a white guy. People have been asked to “ignore” *our* rudeness and *our* inappropriate intonation for far too long.
ingridb

I know of a fellow once who verbalized racism at a group of Black men. They beat the h*ll outta him, not surprisingly. I wonder if the academic mentioned in the article has always been in a more powerful social position where she never encountered the reality of the hurt caused by abusing people through thoughtless discrimination practices? Come visit my neighborhood and make fun of people of color right to their faces. Then you can learn a lesson in reality: you only abuse in academe because you can, because people won’t fight back due to their own need to self-promote and “cya”. Think what kind of person that makes you.
ingridb

R.O.P. Lopez. You ROCK! I am very impressed with your personal power because I really don’t see it much in The Academy. Fighting discrimination and racism is extremely tough: the status quo wish to maintain life ‘as is’. Fighting it in academia is surprisingly difficult, especially when one thinks that good argument alone should be appreciated!
shanna123

I’m always amazed when I occasionally check in on such forums, and see certain names cropping up over and over again. Where do such supposedly busy academics find the time to sit and continually pontificate in their posts day after day? ROP Lopez, your lengthy post describing your discriminatory treatment was interesting. Too bad it contrasted so glaringly with your bigoted and close-minded post equating abortion with murder. As a military person, presumably you’re familiar with the rule of law?
grendel

I think you’re missing the more subtle point, though. Certain prejudices are based on real issues within communities that are statistically verifiable. Sure, you can shame people into silence by telling them that voicing their prejudiced attitude offends you, but you can’t convince people to ignore what’s right in front of them every day. They will simply continue to believe (silently) that young Latinos drop out and have babies — because they witness that more frequently among Latinos than other groups. If your goal is to make people less prejudiced, then you should be attempting to provide them with some context for their observations, to elevate the level of the discussion, rather than just telling them not to talk about their observations. Silencing people doesn’t make their prejudices go away. They just talk about them in private.
mainiac

With La Raza publically prescribing an outbreeding of whites in North America, California bankrupt from illegal immigration, and an quasi marxist administration hell bent on displacing “working class whites” through open borders, this jackass says,” Do the speakers of the comments realize the ramifications of their comments?”
hotice

I can’t see that mbelvadi was in any way suggesting that discrimination not be confronted. Those who have worked any time at all in the professional world have seen that the tactics that work quite well on the street do not work so well in the meeting room. Timing, language, context, and such are all crucial.

I, too, believe that it should be confronted–but from “A” to “Z”. I confront the sarcasm, jokes, and throwaway remarks that are spewed at men, just as much as I confront those that come to women. i don’t see many today that do that.
burger1376

But Mexico still discriminates against Guatemalans who enter Mexico illegally and then turn around and say the US is bad. Hypocrites.
burger1376

The only discrimination in America these days is against white guys.
hotice

I’ve seen it too often, and will not be silent any longer. I must object to the suggestions–suggestions that too often become viscious assertions–that to believe something is wrong is synonomous with discrimination and bigotry. For example:

I do not at ALL support homosexuality; nonetheless, I have not discriminated against anyone in this thread, by saying so (or living so).

I do not at ALL support the act of aborting a baby whose mother is not in danger of losing her life. There is no insult that I have leveled.

Those who would impose discrimination by default on anyone who simply disagrees is employing the same invidious mindset described in the above article.
hotice

“The only discrimination in America these days is against white guys. ”

Are you able to substantiate that claim?
hotice

Getting back to the meat of this article, I haven’t yet read anyone addressing the assumptions that such obnoxious comments push us to make.

Understanding that the article made it clear that what we read was a paraphrase, I still see lots of commonly-heard pellets of mental rat poison whispered between the words:

‘when we work with those students, we can’t make them want to go to college even if we really want them to.’

“Those students”–(I invite you to believe that what I’m about to say is either exclusively disproportionately applicable to the group I just mentioned)

“We can’t make them”–(believe that the default is a shameful, despicable absence of desire on their part)

“even if WE really want them to” (wow. do I really need to say anything?)

“Those” people have an inherent savagery that is averse to higher education. It’s not that people that are averse to higher education happen to ALSO exist among that people group…oh, no. It’s that this aversion DEFINES “Those people”.

What do you all think of that?
hotice

I see what you mean. Blanket statements like the ones you’re talking about not only are not helpful to make (they invite all to address a completely disparate group according to a general description), but fail to really address the evil!
http://www.facebook.com/people/Robert-Gutierrez/20002222 Robert Gutierrez

The article I want to read is how to confront ignorance and prejudice in internet forums and comment sections. I’m a daily reader of the chronicle and I am astounded how absurd, closed-minded, and often down right offensive the comments on many of the chonicles articles here read.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Robert-Gutierrez/20002222 Robert Gutierrez

I apologize, I did not mean for that to be a reply to hotice, just a general comment. I hopefully will figure out how to remedy that.

Hope theres no ard feelings.
burger1376

“we must acknowledge that faculty, especially those with tenure, are largely white and male.”

That is a racist statement right there. The color of their skin doesn’t matter. We can also use other groups such as most faculty were born above the poverty line. How about seeing how many faculty come from the north east and the west coast. If you are going to teach our future University students, I have no hope for the Higher education system in America. Take your racism somewhere else.
burger1376

And ask yourself how many times those “black men” said something racist to whites, Latinos, or Asians? Open your eyes! It goes both ways, and more likely blacks spew racist comments more often since the racist higher education system in the US says only whites can be racist.
burger1376

Blah blah blah.

How many times have you said racist or discriminatory things about other people? And don’t lie. Tell us the real number.
burger1376

Yes, if there were any scholarship for whites only, it would be called racism. If there were any groups for whites only, it would be called racism. If a white person gets in to a university, it is called racism. If a white person gets a job, it is called racism. If a white person makes any money, it is called racism. If a non-white person does any of these things, it is called progress.

Lets not forget that many “white”groups have been discriminated against in history, some more violently than most non-white groups, such as the Irish or the coal miners of Appalachia. Nobody helps the poor whites in Appalachia get out of the cycle of poverty because they are considered a “majority” member. If these people make it out of poverty, it truly is progress. Minorities have been given the opportunity since affirmative action times and many still struggle. That is their own fault, while others never had the attention. Poor whites are shoved under the carpet of a racist liberal movement.
burger1376

You are “astounded” by people who have different experiences and opinions than you? That truly is the main problem with US higher education.
jffoster

Offensive to whom? To youm?
hotice

I have not seen ONE example of higher education in the US saying that ONLY whites can be racist. Very easy to impose that, however.
hotice

Burger 1376, I fail to see how any of the examples you mention point to the idea that discrimination today is directed EXCLUSIVELY toward whites. I don’t even need to challenge the veracity of any of your claims, in order to have a problem with that kind of logic!
hotice

Looks like I misunderstood you, Jason–I reread what you just wrote here, and appreciate what it took for you to speak up and say that! I hope many people respond to that mindset responsibly (though I know many haven’t and will not).
mro_cincy

Reading this article just
reaffirmed my belief that private sector and community involvement are
necessary when it comes to improving high school graduation rates, especially
in underdeveloped neighborhoods. It concerns
me that senior scholars with this short-sided perspective are the ones leading
and influencing those who will become our future academic leaders. Everyone is
a stakeholder when it comes to education. If you want to live in a good
community with low crime and strong economic growth, then you need to have a surplus
of citizens contributing to society. Where are these citizens going to come
from if there is a deficit of educated people? The country’s economic future
depends on Latinos since they will make up 60% of the U.S population over the
next 40 years. This is not just a race issue but a survival issue for our country.

1 in 5 students in the U.S are Hispanic. They
are the fastest growing population in the country with the lowest student
achievement level with less access to early childhood programs, highest drop
out rate in high school, and lower odds of attending college than any other
group in the country. The statistics are not pretty but that’s all the more
reason why academic authorities should take action on IMPROVING not blaming or
reverting to the belief of “that’s just the way it is.” Maybe that’s why there
are more young Latino women getting pregnant—because educators are not showing
them that there is more out there for them no matter where they came from! I applaud
those who are truly working to fix the issue, those who DO believe in not
just “those people” but all people. Believing in the student is just the
beginning and it’s sad that someone who claims to have the “power” to change the system with their tenure cannot acknowledge that.
mro_cincy

Why should I or other families, the taxpayers, have to pay for someone else’s contraception or abortion? Government should NOT be involved with an individual’s sexual activity. If someone cannot afford contraception and chooses not use natural family planning then they should not be having sex. There are plenty of local non-profit organizations out there that help pregnant women and provide post abortion counseling.
I am pro-life and I have been outside Planned Parenthood (which is now closed and the former director is now also pro-life). I can assure you that no one was foaming at the mouth-save your exaggerations for Hollywood.
lucapacioli

When you “push” students the way you push your own children, what does that do to your teaching evaluations?
grendel

Oh, come on. All this outrage is a bit much. I have to wonder if the people who are responding with angry mini-lectures about “institutionalized racism” have ever actually experienced what it’s like to teach in under-served communities. Usually the students who need the most support are exactly the students who NEVER come and talk to you, who NEVER ask for help or advice, who just don’t show up one day, and then the next day, and then the next, and then one day you see that they’ve dropped your course and you never get a reason why, unless you hunt them down and hound them for it (which feels weird, because they’ve rarely spoken to you). The most needy students are not coming up to you saying, “Oh, please, professor, tell me whether I should drop out. Are there any services I can access that will help me stay in school?” Nine times out of ten they just go completely AWOL. They vanish. And it’s precisely because that’s so frustrating that teachers are inclined to adopt attitudes like, “There’s nothing I can do when students want to drop out.” The reality is that Latinos often do have children at younger ages and drop out at a higher rate than many other groups. That’s something these teachers are observing on a daily basis. So if you want teachers to behave differently, don’t tell them they’re being racists. They’re speaking about what they observe, and they feel like it’s a cultural problem, and they’re frustrated and don’t know what to do about it. Why not frame the discussion like that, rather than saying, “Isn’t it shocking how prejudiced these academics are!” Shocking! Shocking! But not a single poster here can say what a teacher is supposed to DO for these students. That’s the hard part, isn’t it? You’re putting the cart before the horse, acting as if the reason a student gets pregnant is because her teacher suspected that she MIGHT get pregnant. I’m just not buying it.
jazrea

Hello. Many of the responders to this blog have gone off on
their own personal tangents. Let’s get back to the original problem. A graduate
student at an academic conference was disrespected and insulted. Where were the
voices to stand beside her and say this is not acceptable? Educated scholars should
know by now that it is unacceptable to “otherize,” or stereotype a person or a
group.
hotice

I must agree that the tangents are taking over–to the destruction of productive conversation! While any of us would agree that educated scholars should know that it is unacceptable to “otherize,” it would seem that the problem lies not with what the scholars know–but rather with the principles to which they are committed. The committment wasn’t there. At least not enough to provoke action.

Each of us needss to check ourselves, making sure that we are of the type that will speak up for AL those that are truly being done wrong, not just the group that we want to push into the power positions.
burger1376

Institutional racism against whites is very obvious. If you can’t see it, I can’t help you. The entire idea in higher education that only whites can be racist is a start. Look up definitions of racism to begin with. Then look up the real numbers of people living in poverty and what race they are. Don’t be liberal and only focus on inner cities. Look at the history of Appalachia and the legacy of coal mining slavery. Then look at how much attention those people get in the history text books or how much representation these people have in government, finance, education, etc.

Then look at all the programs, books, articles, speakers, groups, and many other things that support “minorities.” Then look again at how many of these elite minorities point to “white” people as the problem. Look at how many ignore what you learn about the people of the Appalachian region and other poor, white areas of America.

If you do this, you will slowly see what I am talking about. If not, you will continue to be ignorant to reality.
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