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Reflections on diversity
Reflections on diversity
The world of diversity
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Journal #2
The point of these journal entries is to see how my understanding of diversity and my own personal identity evolves throughout this course. Looking back at this past month I realized just how many key factors we have covered, some that I might have heard of before and others that were brand new to me. Although every discussion and reading was important, there were two main topics that influenced my train of thought the most: privilege and the impacts of a campus climate.
Privilege
Privilege is a difficult topic to discuss, at least it is for those that are privileged. During the past month we discussed the variety of groups that make up a college campus and the inequalities that they are met with. Over the past month we spent time discussing the variety of groups that make up a college campus as well as the inequalities these groups are met with, based on first hand experiences from classmates, and concepts from the book Privilege Power, and Difference
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In the article Gasman pretty much listed every opinion I had about the institutions as myths. My strongest opposition was the lack of diversity and preparedness for the real world, which was myth #2. Gasman challenged that many MSIs actually are made up with a diverse student body including Asians, African Americans, Latinos, and White students. She also stated that there are diverse representations of religion, socioeconomic standing, and sexuality. After reading more about MSIs and listening to discussions held in class I started to realize that my preconceived notions were not based on facts and were simple stereotypes. In fact, after learning more about the importance of campus climate, and the marginalization that many underrepresented groups face, I started to see how in many cases MSIs could be extremely beneficial in providing certain students with the best learning environment for
The essay, “Diversity: The Value of Discomfort” is an argument written by Ronald L Leibowitz in which he addresses a group of graduates about the value of diversity in college. To me, diversity means the unique backgrounds which influence people’s thoughts, ideas, and opinions. Each of the factors in an individual’s background makes them unique, and creates an important facet of our communities. However, we need to recognize and understand diversity, and simply “celebrating” it is not enough—we must embrace it in our colleges, workplaces, neighborhoods, and larger societies.
Power and privilege may be challenging and trigger defensiveness from white counterparts. However, it is important to recognize the systemic privilege that whites have over those who come from disadvantaged groups. Prior, to the readings I had a little knowledge of the power and privilege but I did not know the avenues that privileged people do to ensure that their children enroll in the top universities and colleges. As a result, whites have greater access to certain higher social status and income levels that will position them to have greater control over decision-making. This privilege reinforces the imbalance of privilege that whites have over racialized groups.
In Rebecca Cox's "The College Fear Factor," the reader is exposed to the routines and fears of being a student attending a community college. The students interviewed for the book appeared to fear adapting to the life a college student and the fear of failing more than they were concerned about how microaggression affected them. This can be attributed to the fact that community colleges offer a more diverse student body where students share similar life experiences. Social class, gender, and races come in second when the students are attempting college for the first time than compared to minority students who attend elite schools and face a new and alien culture to them; That of the students who are rich and privileged and are able to more easily afford these elite universities. Students who by the fortune of being born into privilege may not have known or felt the struggles that a minority student on campus would face. For example, minorities "[...] are severely underrepresented on most campuses. At Oberlin, for instance, black students form only 5.2 percent of students, Hispanic students 7.2 percent, and Asian Americans 4.2 percent. Minorities, by virtue of their being in the minority, do not and cannot exert robust social control of any kind at elite universities like Oberlin." (Runyowa par. 18). In losing the diverse environment that community colleges face, the
Sensory and DiAngelo (20012) showed the meaning of “privilege” in general and in academics. In general, people who have the privilege are treated as lucky, and they will benefit from this luck. Therefore, people think that privilege is a positive thing. However, the definition of the privilege is different when academics define it. The reason why it happens is because of how society works defined by academics. “They refer to the rights, advantages, and protections enjoyed by some at the expense of and beyond the rights, advantages, and protections available
Dental professionals have a commitment to respect diversity and create equity of access to dental care for everyone (GDC, 2014). Diversity describes any dimension that can be used to differentiate an individual from others. It requires understanding that each individual is unique and accepting and respecting these individual differences (QCC,2013). These differences could be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender, age, socio-economic status or other ideologies (QCC, 2013). Understanding the impact that these differences may pose is vital in dealing professionally with people from diverse backgrounds and delivering equal treatment for all. Equality refers to identical treatment in dealings quantitates and values (Braveman, and Gruskin, 2003). Thus, creating equality for all might not mean that there are no disparities between different groups. Equity on the other hand refers to fairness and the equality of outcomes and involves recognizing aspects of a system that may disadvantage a certain group and correcting them (Braveman, and Gruskin, 2003). Therefore, in order to overcome potential pitfalls that may create inequity to access, there is a need to explore the different factors encountered in our diverse society that may create these issues. As an example, patients from different ethnic backgrounds may be faced with barriers accounting for the less frequent use of dental care (CQC. 2010). This group will be used as an example and some of the issues behind this inequity of access will be looked at further.
Johnson, Allan G. "Privilege, Power, and Difference (2nd ed.)." Johnson, Allan G. Privilege,Oppression, and Difference. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2006. 12-40.
Both authors have recognized the fundamental structures behind privilege –specifically white privilege in America. Their purpose and that of many civil right activists of our era is to bring awareness to those who are in positions of privilege to bring change that fosters the spirit of inclusion, reform and progression into America’s social and mainstream environments.
When diversity is being discussed, there are a plethora of ideas that are associated with it. Whether people are talking being put on a waitlist for college, about people of color, or about representation in the media, the subject of diversity is not rare. Recently, the conversation of diversity has become more common because colleges want to demonstrate that they have diversified campus. How would diversity on campus be defined? Most importantly, diversity is more than having an extraordinary personality. Race, gender, sexuality, and social status are a few of the superfluous traits that make an individual unique in a college’s eyes. In Sophia Kerby’s article, “10 Reasons Why We Need Diversity on College Campuses”, she notes that, while there has already been an effort to diversify high schools and middle schools, accepting students of different backgrounds is not as apparent in higher education (1) . A university desires to diversify its campus in order to benefit the students that are attending the college. Students are not only likely to improve
In general, the basic concept of diversity means that everyone is unique and have individual differences that must be accepted and respected in our society. For the most part, these uniqueness falls along the lines of dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual-orientation, socio-economic status, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, and others (Excelsior College, n.d.)
Privilege can be defined as unearned benefits given to people who fit into certain social groups, particularly the dominant groups. Privilege is the basically the other side of oppression, expect it is harder to notice because it does not leave an impression. People who are a part of a subordinate group often experience daily oppression, or micro aggressions, that cause them to feel less than the majority. College students are in a critical time in their life, figuring out their identity and how it relates to other people. If the subordinate group feel less than others, how can they become civically responsible citizens, confident in their abilities to promote a positive change in their environments?
As a minority and a first-generation college student, Brewer struggled at the University of Texas at Austin. Tough argues, many good students that come from a minority community “…get to a good college and encounter what should be minor obstacle, and they freak out. They don’t want to ask for help, or they don’t know how” (Pg.Tough 2). The lLack of confidence to reach out to the resources available at particular campuses forces marginal students out of college or even causing a delay in their graduation.
While there are a number of institutional characteristics that a student may be interested in, included in the figure are those characteristics that have been found to be most important for students of color. The matrix depicts the types of responses that students are likely to have depending on their racial centrality and their interpretation of a particular campus’s commitment to diversity.
Educators must understand and recognise issues of diversity and difference amongst students to provide an inclusive learning environment. Each child brings to class a unique blend of differentiated social and cultural backgrounds, which can impact their overall success in reaching curriculum goals. Through educator’s acknowledgment of such diversity, students are given the opportunity to build a sense of identity and overcome stereotypical notions that society has created. The Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) along with the Early Years Frame Work (EYLF) emphasise that equality across classroom practices is of highest priority for all children
There are many definitions relating to diversity, equity and inclusion that and sometimes the terms used interchangeably. Definitions that are helpful in understand the concepts are as follows. Diversity can be the sum of the ways that people are both alike and different. The dimensions of diversity include race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, language, culture, regions, mental and physical ability, class, and immigration status. While diversity itself is not value-laden term, the way that people react to diversity is driven by values, attitudes, beliefs, and so on. Full acceptance of diversity is a major principle of social justice. I personally didn’t have that much knowledge about the diversity social justice because I came from
In the future, the world will only become more diverse. People should learn to appreciate it by acknowledging the differences around them. Sometimes people are scared that “recognizing differences will divide people from each other. However, learning about cultural differences can actually bring people closer together” ( “Section 1”). It would be better if people became closer together instead of growing apart because of discrimination and other mistreatment. Building relationships with different cultures should be a goal of everyone and even nations as a whole. Each group has different strengths that can benefit the the community altogether. Since the world will definitely become more diverse, it is important to be informed about cultural groups so you can become more marketable and succeed in a diverse world.