The group spoke in particular about racially-based micro-aggressions: snubs or insults, often unintentional, that transmit negative messages to people based on their race, culture or group. As Student Government President Devin Tyler said in an email to students the next day, micro-aggressions can lead students in our community to feel “disconnected, targeted, unwanted, or threatened.”

We believe it is important to reduce micro-aggressions on our campus, and we list below some steps that should help. We hold this belief at the same time that we also believe strongly in freedom of speech: one does not exclude the other. In simple terms, the fact that you can say something insensitive, careless and demeaning to another person does not mean that you should say it. Devin had it right when he said we need to “become more conscious and cautious of what we say to each other.”

In last spring’s All-Campus Student Survey, students of color – Black students in particular – disagreed more than white students with the statement that “diversity is embraced” at the College. Students at last Wednesday’s forum said that ongoing micro-aggressions are a big reason for the difference in perspective that the survey revealed.

With this in mind, we plan to take these initial steps:

• Invite to campus speakers who can help increase student, faculty and staff awareness and understanding of micro-aggressions and other aspects of culture and diversity
• Schedule a follow-up student forum in January, probably during the week of Martin Luther King Day
• Prepare and include an educational session on cultural diversity and micro-aggressions for all students in next year’s New Student Orientation
• Consult with the General Education Curriculum task force on strategies under consideration to revise the College’s cultural diversity course requirement
• Develop a protocol for students to consult with the Office of Intercultural Relations if they experience and are disturbed by micro-aggressions

We believe these steps will strengthen our campus and push the College closer to full realization of our mission statement.

Related Links:

• Forester Five - Embrace Diversity