With racial tensions boiling over throughout the United States, it would seem that no one is immune from the backlash, including new Multicultural Student Affairs director, Nashia Whittenburg. When sharing her vision for MSA with NC State News, Whittenburg unknowingly sparked internet backlash from all sides when she suggested housing “specifically for women of color.”
Since then the University has been in damage control mode with several high-ranking administrators, including Vice Chancellor Mike Mullen, reassuring everyone that Whittenburg’s suggestion was simply just that: a suggestion. No formal proposal had been submitted.
However, by the next news day several conservative leaning news websites, including Campus Reform, had spun the story accusing administrators at NC State of promoting segregation, despite the fact that the University already has several Living and Learning Villages cater to students with specific interests, majors, and ethnicities. Similar articles and comments began to appear, most relying on the slippery logic that somehow having a housing community of women of color would result in a time jump back to the age of segregated classrooms, water fountains and other common amenities.
Surely, the intense backlash has a direct correlation to the events occurring in America right now, but simply labeling the idea as a leftist ploy to reinstate segregation grossly undermines what has the potential to be a beneficial resource for students of color navigating NC State.
Already, minority students struggle to psychologically adjust to the world of academia, and several studies suggest that the psychological barriers are directly correlated to a sense of belonging on campus, which is measured by the availability of resources such as support groups and living communities. By providing support and lowering these psychological effects, universities are not only better able to retain minority populations on campus, but also better educate those who are not aware of the adversities these groups face.
As a woman of color navigating NC State, having the additional support of a living community of like-minded individuals is appealing to me. Like most human-beings, we crave areas where we are able to authentically be ourselves and to be open about the struggles we face. Those in the majority on campus don’t think twice about this, as the University is designed around them and their needs. And while they are all important, it is true that there are other communities on campus that need more support than others.
My first day of class at NC State, I sat behind a peer who openly informed me that the only reason I was here was because of affirmative action and the need for African American students at NC State. Similar events left me doubting my belonging at this university so much, that I intended to transfer.
In the end I decided to stay, but constantly having to justify your existence in a space is incredibly disheartening. On top that you have to continue justifying your existence not only in common areas, but in your permanent residence. In a sense, your home is no longer safe. That safety net and support could be the difference between a student’s success or failure.
Recently, I was introduced to the concept of segregation vs. congregation, interestingly enough through the ABC sitcom “Blackish,”which uses humor to explore the racial divides in America today.
Merriam-Webster defines congregation as an “assembly of persons,” and while the definition of segregation does mention that it can either be forced or voluntary, in today’s world segregation tends to have a negative connotation that typically involves coercion.
In this instance, the students of color at the fictional university gravitated to a particular dorm and several higher ups feared that the group of similar people joining together could be misconstrued as some new form of modern day segregation. However, it is very different to choose to live in a community of people who hold similar interest, values, and life experiences as you, than to be forced to the outskirts of society and be unable to make any progress due to purposeful systematic practices.
Congregation tends to occur willingly. It is most often applied to people of similar religions, but congregation occurs gradually throughout our lives as we form relationships based on our morals, interest and general understanding of the world.
For example, choosing to live in the Black Male Initiative, a village that provides mentors and support to a select underrepresented community at NC State, could be considered a congregation, as students actively make the choice to join. Similarly, no one is calling for the end to other Living and Learning Villages that focus on offering support and bringing similar people together.
Neither Women in Science and Engineering nor Women of Welch are ever criticized for catering specifically to women and excluding men. It is also important to note the all the villages at NC State are housed in larger residence halls, that include a number of students who are not necessarily in the village. No dorm is totally segregated on any basis. In this sense, having a Living and Learning Village centered around the support of women of color is no different than any other Living and Learning Village on campus.
