University of Redlands
Q&A Session for Challenging Conversations Series:"Race in America: Impact on Students"
Nancy Wayne 1:38 PM
Q: What does it look like to support students from marginalized populations? What kind of action do you think would be impactful, beyond hiring more Black and Latinx faculty and staff?
Hazward: I think support for students in marginalized populations involves making sure they not only have all the resources they need to get ahead of the curve that befronts them, but also consistently brainstorming with them to find faults/errors/improvable methods to work on. Beside hiring more Black and Latinx faculty and staff, there needs to be more funding allocated to marginalized groups. There needs to be a change of the education system enacted in regard to marginalized groups, and all around there needs to be a better effort to lift up these groups.
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Gavi Dhariwal 1:38 PM
Q: As a Computer Science major at the university, I am fortunate enough to be under the tutelage of a professor who comes from my home country of India. There is a considerable difference being in his class than the other CS professors. But he is the only professor of color—not just in the CS department but in the entire Appleton premises. And one can CLEARLY see the difference of treatment he goes through amongst students and professors who are predominantly white (in classes and meetings).¬ With the new intentions of the university to hire faculty of color, what measures, policies and changes in personal beliefs should faculty and administrators take up to make faculty of color feel welcomed and included?
Hazward: There needs to be (I’d say) and overhaul as far as endeavours revolving around faculty of color. This includes support, commendation, financial aid, and any and all engagements that can put them at a danger or disadvantage. These faculty are one of the very things students ask for in order to feel more comfortable and involved on campus. Without these role models/ support roles, it becomes tens of hundreds of times more difficult for students to be proactive in making the best for themselves.
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elissa yan 1:39 PM
Q: Christopher - what do you think the effectiveness is of having 'challenging conversation' to change Redland's diversity?
Hazward: (while I’m not Christopher, I’d like to answer this) - I feel that challenging conversation is not enough alone. Ever. I say this because we can sit here all day and have a difficult conversation, but unless some sort of fruitful intent spurs from it, we will not get far enough. We need actionable work to follow up on after the conversation and we need to continue to have the conversation, because there will not be a change of pace in one’s mind unless they continue to
retouch on a topic.
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Redlands Alumni for BLM is HERE 1:39 PM
Q: Christopher - how are you pushing for 'challenging conversations' without identifying how to check privilege?
Hazward: (again, I want to answer) - I want to make something clear: I want to have privilege be acknowledged in addition to these challenging conversations. I for one have privilege, and a bit part of checking it, is addressing it in relation to what I can do to help others as well as what I can take from others to monitor how I’m going wrong about my privilege. I feel it’s detrimental to a conversation if we are not addressing privilege in some way.
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Kimberly Anasco 12:35 PM
Q: What sorts of specific resources and supports would you each like to see implemented at institutions of higher learning, U of R or otherwise?
Hazward: There needs to be more support groups for those marginalized groups. There needs to be board involvement and presence for those same groups so that they can have their voices be heard at the higher levels. More than anything, there needs to be transparency in things that involve the student populus (for example, it is difficult to find out how funding is broken down into specifics. As a student, I would like to know where my money is going so that I can call to advocate for what needs more/less).
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Christina Alaniz 1:39 PM
Q: I believe it is so important to begin these discussions as early as possible. I teach 5th grade and I would love to hear how you would like to see these conversations taking place at the elementary school level.
Hazward: While it does not need to be as specific as ours, I believe it would be important to have elementary school level teaching that highlights the importance of equity and emotional/situational comprehension (ie understanding that not everyone has the same privilege and how to go about helping with that). Children are stellar, and eat every bit of knowledge up at such a young age. I also know it is at this young age that habits are starting to be formed both by the child, as well as those that influence the child. We as a society need to start the unlearning of toxic ideals and this would be a way to start (yes, children learn toxic concepts at such a young age. It is a vice that plagues the world, but it is also an undeniable truth.) As far as how to do this, I say be flexible in it. Children love to learn and there are so many ways
to do it that don’t have to be a sit down lecture. :)
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Jewel Patterson 1:41 PM
Q: How does one get chosen to be on this panel? Does Natalie recognize her own privilege as white passing member of the University of Redlands Community?
Boehm: Hi Jewel, thank you for asking your questions. I volunteered to take part in the panel. I do recognize that I can easily pass for being white and that I am not as high risk for discrimination as African Americans or other minorities in the community. I have expressed my concerns to both Christopher as well as Dean Tom Horan of the University of Redlands Business School. As a concerned alumni I have told both of them that I feel the demands that the group Redlands Alumni for BLM is HERE are valid and that changes need to be made. I hope that Christopher and Dean Horan take what I sent them seriously and that the University of Redlands works to make it a more diversified university for all to feel safe at.
Hazward: This panel was purely voluntary. If you would like to be involved on the future panels, the best way is to contact Tracy or Christopher. That being said, a lot of different groups are also planning panels, forums, and discussions like this for the near future. If you have any particular group you want to assist, please do contact them as I know they would love the help. And as Natalie had mentioned, she does recognize her privilege as white passing. I should take to note, however, that there are a myriad of privileges many of us have/don’t have, and from what I’ve learned, Natalie is effectively using her privilege to be an ally. Please respect that.
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Caryl Forristall 1:42 PM
Q: If a professor sees a microaggression in class, what is the best way for the professor to respond in the classroom?
Hazward: The very least I can expect a professor to do is directly address what was heard. I can’t say they should address who was involved, but it needs to be addressed, lest it will be considered “okay to do” in the future. I would also say that there should be a curriculum that also addresses microaggressions in a greater detail, as well as a discussion on how to navigate them; when they are navigated, it needs to be a collective class effort, so that it doesn’t require the aggressed to have to do educative work. We can’t have discipline for them without people
understanding why what was said/done is wrong.
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Jewel Patterson 1:43 PM
Q: Chanel, thank you for your presence on this panel. I'm wondering when applying to U of R what were your expectations? Did it reach your expectations?
- Answered in program
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Hien Huynh 1:53 PM
Q: Can you share if you felt included as a student and alumni yet not empowered? Please provide examples.
Hazward: I feel involved, but only in the spaces I feel at home. What I mean by that, is that when I am in spaces that aren’t making the active effort to make all feel welcome, it doesn’t feel inclusive (for lack of a better word. A great example is the fraternity parties. Not all of them are fostered for all people and usually there is a large population of people that don’t feel included for reasons ranging from frat selectivity to outright aggression toward one or multiple identities that person has.
Another could be that CDI (center for Campus Diversity and Inclusion in Hunsaker Plaza) is one of the only spaces outside of people’s dorms (sometimes, not even in the dorms) that many marginalized groups truly feel their presence is unaffected or harmed by the generational workings of the university.
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Redlands Alumni for BLM is HERE 1:43 PM
Q: Natalie, how does it feel that as a white woman, who is relatively new in her understanding of racism and organizing, that you were the person who was chosen by the University to begin the discussion regarding BLM and the civil rights movement that is currently happening in our nation?
Boehm: Thank you for the question. Sadly, I am not new to any understanding of racism. I grew up in the second most depressed city in the United States and was exposed to systemic racism and economic inequality from a very young age. The stories that you are sharing on your website I know too many people who have had those experiences. My best friend who is African American and homosexual has faced discrimination all of his life and there have been two situations where law enforcement harassed him when I was present. I was furious and felt helpless knowing if I became upset, it could get us arrested or worse. I wrote President Kuncl telling him how important it was that he support your group and why. If you did not see what I wrote to him, please let Christopher know and I will email him the letter I wrote the president and have him send it to you. I reviewed your site and the demands that you requested. I reviewed them as well as the 990 tax returns of the University. I feel many of your demands are valid and I am furious that Coach Maynard has not been terminated from his position. I also became furious when I found out that they are hiring retired police officers from the Redlands Police Department because who knows if these officers have PTSD from years of being on the force and what they might try to do to students. I want you to know I believe you when you share your experiences. I cannot say I understand because I can’t, I cannot understand your anger because I’m not in your shoes. I do think your anger is justifiable and things need to change.
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Brandi Veigh 1:48 PM
Q: I've seen a few anon posts and wishes for Black and/or POC designated residence halls/living learning communities. What do you think about this idea? Would this be supportive?
Hazward: While I do see other universities that have effectively used this idea, I can’t say it would be beneficial for redlands, at least in the current state it is in. All things considered, It is a great opportunity for Black/POC to feel more at home, but it can also feel segregational. If I’m 100% honest, this is a terrific question, and I feel it needs a larger presence of discussion because there are a lot of perspectives to explore for this one.
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Redlands Alumni for BLM is HERE 1:48 PM
Q: Chanel, how do you feel working for an institution that does not outwardly claim and stand by the fact that Black lives matter
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Christina Alaniz 1:48 PM
Q: Will antiracist educational policies and curriculum be imbedded into U of R's School of Education for credential students in the BA program?
Hazward: I am expecting it to be. There are demands across the school’s student body, and this in particular is a demand that is on a lot of people’s minds. It should not be limited to the BA program, but all programs and schools under the university.
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Santiago Sandoval 1:48 PM
Q: I have a question/scenario specifically for Chanel: What are your views on the profession area of “Student Affairs” and it’s role in systematic racism? How do we dismantle the systemic racism within an institution that we work for?
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Redlands Alumni for BLM is HERE 1:49 PM
Q: To the panelists who identify as Black or African-American: How do you feel working for an institution that does not outwardly claim and stand by the fact that Black lives matter? Does that affect your experience at school/out of school?
Hazward: It’s hard to sit here and solely condemn Redlands for not standing by BLM in the way they should without also trying to condemn every other space I find myself in that goes about it the same way. It’s an atrocity among the students and staff, because it tells us that we still don’t matter to the higher ups. I’m not blaming those faculty and administrative workers who make the effort or aren’t even being heard by the President and his cabinet, because I know they exist
and I know they are working hard.
And my experience is affected in school, but not as much out of school personally. In school, or with those that know the school, most if not all of our talks include the prospect of the university not speaking out on BLM now. Even before the increase of the matter coming to the public eye, we would always discuss what the university isn’t doing that they should be for a shred of decency. The worst part about it, is that my group of friends is not the only one that spoke like
this- it’s a large portion of the campus.
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elissa yan 1:51 PM
Q: In the Fall, there will be a chance where COVID and shelter-in-place will impact the way our culture and campus life. There will be fewer spaces and limited opportunities for students to congregate. We already know the experiences of BIPOC students on your ¬¬campus and they are not happy. WHAT IS THE UNIVERSITY DOING TO SUPPORT BLM AND INCOMING EXPERIENCES FOR BLACK STUDENTS?
Hazward: I’ll be honest: I haven’t heard much about the “supportive” side of it aside from maybe 3 emails from Kuncl. Not only that, but those emails easily are lost in the system because they aren’t marked with some sort of importance that other emails are. Anything I have heard in a form of support come from students or staff themselves, which I consider a different group than “the university.” I am concerned for incoming students primarily because a lot of this is being thrown under the rug for them, and they aren’t being informed about how the university is going about things unless a student reaches out to them (which we don’t hesitate to, and I’m sure this is intentional because nobody likes to make themselves look bad, now do they?) I would like them to be honest and truthful, and transparent not only with the incoming students, but with their families and support groups.
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Margaret Roletto 1:52 PM
Q: Do you think it would be helpful to introduce new faculty, members of minorities or not, in small group meetings with students?
Hazward: Yes. If we can’t do meetings, then there needs to be some way to visually see who this person is, and what they bring to the table. It goes back to support and connecting the dots. We need to know who will be coming in, because they will be responsible for some aspect of our experience. Whether or not there is a negative connotation that spurs, that person takes that responsibility, and we need to know who to go to if/when that happens.
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Redlands Alumni for BLM is HERE 1:57 PM
Q: As students of color, do you think having an annual climate survey is helpful to understanding what student of color experiences are on campus?
Hazward: It definitely will be. It, along with other efforts that many are asking for, are all collectively to help understand, enhance, and change the experiences of students of color on campus. It is much more than just the students of color though- there are many marginalized groups and identities that can benefit from a survey like this that will give insight to our experiences.
There is an understanding that needs to be had though, and I cannot stress this enough: The survey needs to be from a neutral third party, and it needs to be publicized . What we don’t want is a bias created by a group that surveys with affiliation to anyone, and what we also don’t need is for the information to be rewritten in any way, shape, or form. That is vital information for long overdue reform, and it cannot be tarnished in any way.
