Those who attended the November 1 Racial Literacy session saw the blog post by an undergraduate who was erroneously charged by her professor with committing plagiarism. Presenter Dr. Ruha Benjamin showed the post, Academia, Love Me Back, as an example of the “everyday” racism experienced by people of color. Audience members were asked what they would do in response in the roles of a friend of the student, academic adviser, and college dean.
Here’s the real-life response at the university, as reported by Scott Jaschik in Inside Higher Ed: “Suffolk University’s acting president, Marisa J. Kelly, announced late Tuesday that all faculty members would be required to go through training about microaggressions, the stereotype-based comments and actions that many minority students and faculty members say regularly make them feel unwelcome in higher education and elsewhere.”
Just when you think no one hears you, social media serves as the power source for social change. Listening to feedback from participants in the November 1 session the one that resonated with me the most was expressed by NiOT board member Caroline Clarke. Ms. Clarke recommended addressing the practice by first reviewing other student papers for possible patterns then take firm actions to discourage this practice. I applaud Acting President Kelly for her bold move in recognizing there is a greater embedded situation that requires the first stage to train.