Over twenty-one thousand undergraduate students and six thousand graduate students call the University of Massachusetts, Amherst their home away from home. Located in the heart of New England, an area known for its cultural sensitivity, inclusiveness, and general promotion of difference, incoming students are met with the clamoring consensus by faculty, staff, and student that both the University and the neighboring community offer generally diverse, culturally representative environments, and that both are wholeheartedly committed to the promotion and celebration of difference.
Yet as a recent admittee to UMass in the Fall of 2013, I wasn’t so sure that the campus community was as post-racial, post-patriarchal, or non-heteronormative as representatives would suggest.
If one were to visit the official UMass Amherst website, for example, they would find more images of minority students accepting awards and interacting with peers than they would of white students engaged in the same activities. Yet in observing the different ethnic populations on campus, the amount of minority students relative to the total number of graduate and undergraduate students is overwhelmingly in the minority. The different residential areas on campus are even somewhat stratified not only based on race, but arguably also class, and even sexual orientation.
The suggestion that UMass is an overwhelmingly racially diverse campus (via such forums and resources as the school website) is thereby inherently misleading, in that one’s experience on campus will likely reflect a very different racial and cultural environment than these resources suggest.
While the desire to promote inclusiveness and diversity based on race and ethnicity is certainly present within our UMass community, the lack of representatives for minority groups (relative to students, organizational leaders, and cultural communities, centers, and organizations on campus) inhibits us from achieving a more equalized and encompassing racial and ethnic environment.
I pulled aside various leaders within the UMass community, as well as ordinary students and a few representatives from local organizations in Amherst, and asked them to reflect on the general degree of inclusiveness and diversity at UMass. I also asked participants to take a picture of themselves sharing something they believed the UMass community was most in need of. Here’s what they had to say:
“Trust.” -Martin Gal.
“Honestly, I feel like UMass needs to do a better job at promoting multiculturalism. As far as people who are biracial, multiracial, we don’t really get that many representatives, and we get overlooked a lot of times… Just because a place is liberal doesn’t mean that there aren’t hidden signs of racism… They don’t have programs that cater to students of color. Yeah, you have things like CMASS, but even that gets the backburner. And there are plenty of students who don’t know about CMASS… when because it is a center offered through the University, the University’s responsibility is to make sure that every student knows about it.” –Jennifer-Lee Felix, a recent graduate and former President of Soul TV.
“RSO funding.” -Natasha Singletary, a senior.
“I have a very big problem with the campus tours that only feature the athletic facilities and some of the other facilities on campus. They don’t tour any of the cultural centers. And on the tours, I would literally only see one or two students of color. Among a sea of thirty-odd people, one or two students of color is a problem… Also the tour guides don’t seem to know that these resources exist. Maybe not all of them, but… I work for the Center for Multicultural Advancement, and one of the women there, her job one day was to go to a tour and ask about the centers, and they were completely oblivious…” -Jennifer-Lee Felix.
Racial/Ethnic Backgrounds of Undergraduate Students from Fall 1994 to Spring 2014
“More financial support for underrepresented students.” -Christopher Young, a senior.
“I am not sure that I can compare UMass to other campuses because I have only been in the country for two years. But if I were to think about my own experience here then I think this campus is visibly lacking in diversity. And I am not talking about racial diversity alone, although even that is far from being achieved. I am talking more about the intersection between race and class. It seems to me that the source of whatever little diversity there is seems to come from international students, those who pay excessive amounts to come here or the grad students who come on TA-ships. But I haven’t come across many (not just a personal experience; my local friends confirm this suspicion) ‘colored’ people from the local community, the lesser-privileged communities of Holyoke and Springfield as opposed to the more affluent Eastern Mass.” -Maryam Fatima, a graduate student and course instructor at UMass.
“A more racially and class diverse, and mobilized student body.”
“I can’t really speak so much to… administrative. I know that of the faculty we have represented here at the church, there’s a lot of diversity with people who work for the University, so I only get that kind of picture. But in terms of… just talking and interacting with students, I’d say that UMass does overall a really good job at promoting diversity. There’s probably, maybe… a slight difference in the narrative of diversity versus the practice that gets put into place. I think generally, you see a lot of times that people affiliate or group together according to ‘less than inclusive’ standards sometimes, but I don’t think that’s conscious, or that there’s noticeable division that students are trying to achieve. But I think all in all, compared especially to a lot of environments that I’ve been, there’s a good emphasis on diversity and inclusiveness, especially compared to the University that I went to, where there was a lot of division along racial and ethnic lines.” -Josh Raskin, College Pastor of First Baptist Church in Amherst.
“I believe that UMass tries to promote gender, racial, religious, etc. equality, but the only problem is: where are the students? I feel that there are not enough students to promote their RSOs and continually keep them active. As the president of SoCA and also entering my senior year, I have realized that our general body becomes smaller and smaller, simply because the minority population in UMass is decreasing. With UMass trying to make their University an Ivy League school, they are only looking for the best of the best students… wealthy, limiting individuals who come from higher-income families. The only way to make improvements with UMass is to start by increasing the percentage rate for admitted students that come from other ethnic backgrounds. UMass is diverse but not enough.” -Jinesa Howard, a senior and active President of Students of Caribbean Ancestry (SoCA).
“More diversity.”
Along with race, there are also critical questions to be asked as to what extent UMass (both administratively, as well as through community efforts among students, faculty, and staff) promotes equality and diversity on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, religion, and class. Similarly to questions of race, while we are working to achieve a substantially inclusive and diverse cultural environment, our community must acknowledge that we still have plenty of room to grow, change, and improve.
“I don’t believe that we are in a post-patriarchal society. Yeah, we’ve progressed and we’ve pushed for different equalities, even with having the choice to marry whomever you choose, but even within that choice there are some patriarchal views. [You know], when you see a same sex couple, there’s always the notion of ‘who is the man and who is the woman’, and ‘who is the more dominant and who is the more submissive’? And why does ‘submissive’ equate to a woman, and ‘dominance’ equate to a man?” -Jennifer-Lee Felix.
“I think that the post-race post-patriarchy discourse is very dangerous and more and more people seem to be attracted to it. The problem is that it’s a very attractive concept. It gives this new fuzzy feeling (oh we are all the same) and keeps you from checking your privilege vis-à-vis others. The point is we are not all equal. We are aspiring to be. But the opposite side can tend to be non-communicative or somewhat hostile to the post-race, post-patriarchy people. I think there should be more teach-ins and events where there is a genuine dialogue between the two sides. What gets lost in all the heated arguments is that they are both (at least in terms of the ideal they are aspiring to) on the same side. They are all supporting the same cause eventually. Some think it has already been achieved or achieved to the extent that we no longer need affirmative action, while others are much more realistic and practical.” -Maryam Fatima.
“Awareness.” -Justin Lad, a senior.
“It’s a very progressive campus and a very progressive, very liberal area. There are a lot of people who are open to basically anything: religion, sexual orientation, gender. Everything’s very ambiguous, but at the same time I feel like it’s not completely that way, though it’s kind of impossible to be that way. But most of the people I’ve found (because I lived in Central last year) that are more progressive, or more aware of different types of people, live in Central. And people who fall more into ‘societal expectations’, or boxes that society puts us in, live in Southwest. I don’t want to generalize, but that’s what I’ve noticed. [Like] with being a feminist, I feel like more people in Central are feminist. I was talking to two girls last night, and they don’t know that we’re living in a patriarchal society; they don’t know what that is. And I feel like they kind of should know… It’s important. And with trans people, I feel like a lot of people in Central are more aware of that, and how not to offend anyone. They’re generally more aware of gender and the ambiguity of gender.” -Michael Gabriele, a junior at UMass.
“Equality.”
“I have a few friends in the sciences who have spoken to me about the STEM initiative. I think it hasn’t had the kind of traction that would lead to substantial changes, but it is definitely a big step. On the other hand, I was shocked to hear that grad students don’t get any maternity leave, not even a day more than the ones they are usually allowed. This may not be discrimination directly, but it puts an undue and uncalled-for pressure to choose between having a career and having a family. I think that’s something that needs immediate attention. As for sexual orientation, I think the campus has been extremely welcoming. Derrick Gordon’s case, of course, and the massive gathering against the WBC speaks to an undergrad experience. But even the graduate students that I know talk about finding campus a safe space. I also think that the Valley community deserves credit for turning up in huge numbers and UMass for mobilizing them. I am curious to see how Derrick Gordon would have been received on other campuses and if the administration would have to openly come out and condemn those that ‘create trouble.’” -Maryam Fatima.
“Less victim blaming” and “More support.” -Ines Tamajong and Evan Dunn, seniors.
“We, at the Stonewall Center, do a tremendous amount of advocacy and [pretty much] get support from whatever office or department we are approaching with an issue. I think that there’s more awareness in certain places than others. Especially with talking about academic realm, I’m sure there are a lot of places where faculty members are not inclusive when it comes to looking at sexual orientation or gender identity, recognizing that there are more than two genders, recognizing that heterosexuality is not the only sexuality. So there’s a kind of gender normativity, heteronormativity that I’m sure functions across the curricula… and I think that there are some faculty that are a little more conscious of that than others. And the same goes for administrative or student affairs standpoint, where that gender normativity, heteronormativity is challenged more by some people than others. [You know], it’s a learning process for everyone, and for some people I think they’re further along in that process than others.” –Genny Beemyn, Director of the Stonewall Center.
“Love.” -Michelle Ostrovsky, a senior.
“I think probably, officially, equality is promoted. There’s a good awareness around gender and sexual orientation. You read a lot of the news stories and of course you’re getting a very small view, but I [kind of] worry about, in particular, women at UMass [students]. I think that party culture and rape culture (or at least a demeaning culture towards women) kind of go hand-in-hand. And we’ve seen that with a number of cases within the last couple of years, which is really tragic… Maybe this speaks more to the area, some things that have gone on on other campuses as well. You just [kind of] worry about voices given to, especially women, who have suffered violence at the hands of men, that maybe they’re not being taken seriously. That’s more of a broader cultural concern, but I don’t think UMass is immune.” -Pastor Josh Raskin.
“Stop sweeping sexual assault under the rug.” -Sebastian Vivas, a junior.
“In terms of orientation question, there’s an awareness, again, and a good one, especially in light of recent events with Westboro Baptist Church coming and the protest. I spoke at UMass United, from a perspective that was basically saying ‘God does not hate’. And trying to be very clear, partly because we have the word ‘Baptist’ in our name, so it’s pretty important to say that, ‘Hey, those guys aren’t us’… And I just hope to proclaim a message that you are loved, dearly, by God… I guess that for me, personally, I’ve recently decided to stop answering the question of whether I believe homosexuality is a sin or not, because I don’t think it’s a helpful question. I think it’s a question that’s designed to divide rather than unite. It’s like, ‘Okay, I can either write you off or embrace you and not worry about your religion, as long as we agree on this one thing.’ Or vice versa, ‘write you off because I disagree with your religious views.’ It’s divisive. So…
I don’t think that’s the right question we should be asking. I think that, at least in the church, our question needs to be, as always, ‘What would Jesus do? How would Jesus react?’ and I’m fully convinced that Jesus’ reaction would be one of love and acceptance. It’s not so much as what behavior is or isn’t a sin. It’s more that we are sinners, across the board, in desperate need of God in our lives. So I don’t want that to be a question that continues to divide the church, or continues to cut the church off from a community that sees how horribly people have treated the LGBTQ population, and… sadly, the forerunner of that treatment has been the church. And it’s horrible. One thing that is a sin is the church’s treatment of the LGBTQ population. So… I’m trying to find a way forward for myself, to speak love into a community that I think probably has written off the church because of their stance on this issue over the years, and just try to represent Jesus in everything I do and say. That’s why I spoke at UMass United, and that’s why when people ask, again, ‘Are you open and affirming in your church?’ We say, ‘We’re open to everyone. We’re open to anyone to come in and encounter Christ.’ We don’t want the question of someone’s identity to be their racial, gender, sexual identity; we want it to be whether or not their identity is found in Christ, and that’s ultimately the issue. So to have a stance, I think, does away with the deeper question, and that’s kind of where I’m at these days.” -Pastor Josh Raskin.
“Open-mindedness.” –AJ Odunukwe, a senior.
“My experience of religious equality has been through the Muslim Student Association on campus. And I have also heard about other RSOs that are religion-based. These give a nice safe space within which to express oneself and have a community-life, if one chooses to. UMass also gave space to the MSA for hosting their Friday prayers. I think it’s a progressive move.” -Maryam Fatima.
“More social responsibility taught in all departments.” –Ryan Olszewski, a junior.
“I think that whereas a lot of the other issues, there’s a narrative around them, at UMass and the different campuses in the area, there’s not a narrative around religion. It causes a lot of discomfort, because it deals with the very deeply held core of who we are. All these things do. I think that when I speak to students of faith, there is a vastly prevailing sentiment of ‘religion is off-limits on my campus. I can’t talk about my faith with people; people don’t want to hear about it.’ And so, I don’t know that UMass/Amherst/Five College is doing a good job at promoting a discussion, a dialogue around religious equality. I think it’s just [sort of like], ‘That’s your business. Don’t discuss it.’ It’s very much between you and whatever you worship. And so there’s, maybe not a fear, but a hesitation to be open about religion on campus. I feel that from a lot of the students I talk to.” –Pastor Josh Raskin.
“Voice” and “Sexual, cultural, gender awareness.” -Oscar Lee and Nicole Navarro, juniors.
I would venture to say that most students are proud to call themselves a part of the UMass community, a community that consistently expresses the desire and the willingness to promote and work toward cultural awareness on campus, relative to the different intersections of cultural identity. However, it is important that we acknowledge that our work relative to these issues is far from over, and only with that communal awareness can we move forward, not only in creating a narrative around these issues, but in taking the necessary steps to see equality and diversity, over various contexts, more actively displayed both on our campus and within our local community.