“Good morning” can be such a simple and over looked phrase. However, TCNJ’s Professor Joseph Camiolo exemplifies this phrase and the importance of the meaning that comes from it. We say “good morning” as a greeting of respect to the person we are talking to, and it therefore can promote a respectful environment. Professor Camiolo has quite the resume – an Associates in Psychology, a Bachelor’s and Masters in Social Work, a minor in Meteorology (Rutgers University), and has taken online post-graduate courses at Harvard, Cornell, and Wesley Universities. Additionaly, he has taken courses at the University of Minnesota, Berkeley, and University of Queensland in courses ranging from global health, global sociology, global anthropology and current events, to capitalism, natural disasters, and the biology of water and health. Camiolo is not the type of professor to only teach vocabulary or information for memorization, he teaches his students important lessons that they will make use of throughout their life; even if it is as simple as saying “good morning.”
On the first day of class, Camiolo made it very clear that he won’t put up with college students’ nonsense in the classroom. He puts forth strict rules that he expects will be followed. However, just because Camiolo expects students to be polite and punctual in his presence does not mean he wants students to stay submissive and silent throughout his lectures. Camiolo admitted that he makes “controversial” statements in front of his students in class to warrant a reaction from them. A lot of these statements stem from social justice and women’s rights issues. He tends to make broad-brush statements about women’s place in society; saying things like women belong in the kitchen, or that women need men to stand up for them. He makes these offensive statements not because he believes them, but because he wants his students to react and stand up for what they believe in.
Camiolo admitted that there was a time in his life where he was uneducated about his own “privilege as a white male.” He said that he grew up in an “Italian, Sicilian, patriarchal environment” where traditionally, women stayed home and the men “ran the show.” His mother was expected to do the chores and stay in the kitchen, and his father – although he was great – was not the best example of how men should treat women. Camiolo stated, “to be very honest, before I went to college, I would say I did not care about women in the family. They were just there to be in the kitchen and make babies, that’s what I was shown.” He grew up in Philadelphia with friends who constantly belittled women, objectifying and sexualizing them. He promoted himself as a “tough guy” because of his time spent in Philadelphia, but back then he believed that treating women with disrespect would make him seem even tougher. Looking back at himself he laughs and says, “we were all just a bunch of punk-ass kids.”
Three months after graduating high school, Camiolo joined the army. He spent 11 years on active duty and 15 in the active reserves; totaling 26 years of service. He retired as a Sergeant First Class (SFC) with over 18 ribbons, three presidential unit citations and a Combat Medical Badge. When he was in the service, he said “women were stratified,” but he still had “no clue about oppression.”
It was not until college that Camiolo’s eyes began to open to women’s social issues, so he soon decided to join clubs in support of those issues. He emphasized how important it was that he opened his mind in college and allowed himself to look at the issues that women and other oppressed groups faced. Camiolo had many feminist influencers during his time at Rutgers University. The most prominent influence in his eyes was a woman named Dr. Fulgham. One day, He approached Dr. Fulgham and attempted to hold her umbrella for her during a rainstorm. She responded, stating she was highly capable of holding her own umbrella. At the time, he thought he was being a gentleman, but later, he understood that she reacted so strongly because she wanted to show her independence as a woman. This encounter led Camiolo to gain a desire to understand more about females and gender. Camiolo was also influenced by Dr. Munch, who was another strong-willed feminist professor. He says she has influenced his teaching style and the way he interacts with his students. Dr. Munch taught him the importance of personal space and reading body language. He said, “she let you know when she didn’t like you in her space, either by using her hand to push you away, or by stepping back herself.” These feminist professors led him to become educated on women’s issues and gave him a greater respect for women that his prior environment had not offered him.
Camiolo now proclaims himself as a “proud feminist.” He uses what he has learned in his own classroom, and firmly believes that his students should have an understanding of what feminism is. He pushes his female students to stay true to themselves. He believes “it matters that female students have an equal say in class.” By promoting controversial discussion in class, Camiolo is forcing students to open their minds the same way he opened his when he was in college. He has also raised his children in an environment that allowed them equality, unlike the environment that he thought his father created. “I am a better educator and man today because of my collegiate experiences. I bring to my classes that women are respected and to respect peoples choices while surrounding ourselves with an equalitarian perspective,” he said.
Camiolo’s transformation into a feminist shows the influence that education has on mindsets. Camiolo illustrates the significance of opening one’s mind to learning and understanding different people’s situations, cultures or lifestyles before passing judgment. Uunderstanding and open-mindedness is key in creating social change.
Camiolo has been a Professor at TCNJ for over ten years, at Wilmington University for six years and at Rider University for 2 years. He teaches all levels of sociology. Recently he won the first place prize in TCNJ’s Sociology and Anthropology department for recruiting students into their major and minors. Last fall, he was voted by Delta Zeta Sorority the “Professor of the Semester” for impacting so many women’s lives. Thank you, Professor Camiolo!