LAVC Racial Oppression Discussion

Choose one of the following scenarios that illustrate a variety of incidents that have occurred on a college campus. Imagine that you are a residence hall counselor on campus, and the student described in the incident has come to you to ask for advice.

What sort of advice would you give to the student?

Explain why your advice represents the best course of action for the student to follow.

In this assignment, you are asked to reflect on one of the presented scenarios. This should not be just writing down your first reaction or what you already know. Reflection involves critical thinking, which means rethinking your existing knowledge and previously held opinions in light of what we have learned.

• Scenario 1: Jessica
• Jessica is a 22-year-old Mexican American who moved from Illinois to attend college in California. Lately, she has noticed that the majority of her Hispanic classmates are able to speak both English and Spanish fluently, and most speak Spanish to each other in her Chicano studies class and in social situations.

Jessica’s parents spoke Spanish at home but did not insist that their children become bilingual. For this reason, Jessica understands Spanish when it is spoken to her, but she does not speak it fluently.

Jessica has found that she feels more comfortable and relaxed in classes where most of her classmates are white rather than in her Chicano studies class, where she does not share the experiences of the other Hispanic students. This realization has upset her, and she has come to you for advice.

Scenario 2: Jim

Jim is an 18-year-old white student living away from home for the first time. He and his girlfriend were hanging out at the park when they noticed a car pull into the empty parking lot. No one got out of the car for nearly an hour, and it was getting dark. Jim and his girlfriend had planned to stay a while longer, but the car made them feel nervous.

As they left the park, they passed nearby the car, and Jim knocked on the window to see if the occupants needed any help. As the window rolled down, Jim noticed that the men were black. He said, “Hey, what’s up? What are you guys doing here?” One of the men was insulted, became angry, and stated that they had every right to be in the parking lot. He claimed that Jim was racially profiling them. He has gone to the campus mediation center to report the incident and is demanding that Jim formally apologize.

Jim is very upset because he feels he is being unfairly called a racist.

Scenario 3: Anthony

Anthony is a 20-year-old Chinese American student who recently transferred to your university from the community college in his hometown. He met with his advisor earlier today to discuss his schedule. As he was leaving the office, his advisor said, in a friendly and jovial manner, “The restaurant on First Street has the best wonton soup in town!”

The more Anthony thought about this, the more upset he has become.