Minority Issues

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General Information

Time Out - HBI

Self-Evaluation Questions 

Toolkit for Success

Being a "Class Act" no matter what 

COLLEGE CALL CHECKLIST

General Information

Being a minority on a college campus is an issue whether it is due to ethnic background, country of birth or gender. No one should ever tell you to turn your back on your ethnic background and history. It is as much a part of you as breathing. Your history is rich and wonderful and to be treasured.

Take advantage of minority cultural centers that are on campuses. These centers sponsor social gatherings and events, educational and cultural events and seminars. Participating in these events will help other cultures and races better understand yours. The more understanding that occurs, the faster the barriers between peoples will fall down.

Always keep in mind that reverse hatred and demeaning language is just as damaging than to receive it. Take a stand against intolerance in any form. Don’t let anyone tell you or make you feel you are inferior.

Take social science and history courses that address issues for your minority. These will not only help you become more knowledgeable of your rich history and culture, but through your participation, will also help spread the knowledge throughout your college.

Once you have made a decision on your college major join the minority professional organization.

Many states across the country are banning racial profiling by police departments. It has been an unfortunate fact of life. Signing laws will not automatically solve the problem or prevent the situations from occurring in the future, but it is a start. Check and see if your college has a ban on racial profiling not only for the campus police, but for the city or town in which your college is located. The same situation follows with the fact that even though hate crimes have been outlawed, hate crimes still occur.

You need to gather around yourself constructive people who will support you in your journey. This includes your parents who may become your greatest cheerleaders. Stay away from people who are destructive to you in attitudes, behaviors and/or influence.

As a junior or senior, try to participate in a minority student prep program offered by some colleges. Two of these are the Special Student Services and Upward Bound programs.

When you visit the campus, spend some time at the student union or large residence hall dining rooms. Ask minority students on campus what their experiences have been like: Do they feel safe here? If they had to do it over, would they still choose this college? Look over the room – is there an invisible line drawn across the room? Or are students reasonably mixed as they sit enjoying themselves? Make arrangements to talk to a minority professor and get her impressions.

 It is human nature to be afraid of the unknown, to be afraid of what is not exactly like you are. If you are on a primarily white campus, you may be the target of some of those fears. How you react to those fears will set the stage for your success on that campus and the degree of success for those who follow you. By reacting in a class act manner, this will help to eventually heal the ignorance that is the basis for racial fear.

There is no magic formula for minority success. You will have to work very, very hard. You will need to form a strong support structure around you of people who believe in you. You need to demand of yourself the strongest choice of courses you possibly manage. You need to demand of others the opportunity to be offered strong curriculum in high school. Set your goals and expectations very high. Figure out a plan to reach those goals.

If there were a magic formula for minority success, education would be the basic ingredient. It is the key to preparing for a successful life. And we must expect and demand rigorous academic standards accompanied by superior teaching.

     Time Out - HBI

For Black high school students, you do have an additional option of college choice – the Historically Black Institutions (HBI). The HBI’s offer the advantages of a supportive community, a nondiscriminatory atmosphere free of racism both in and out of the classroom, and to have greater access to and networking opportunities of role models and alumni. One of thing to keep in mind is that the HBI’s are they are usually smaller schools.

Self-Evaluation Questions 

How you perceive yourself in the world will affect your college choice. The following are self-evaluation questions to add to those listed in the goal setting sections of this web site and Chapter 2 of College Countdown.

 ·          Do you go to a high school with a balanced racial mix or do you
             comprise a very small segment of your high school?

 ·          How do you interact with your peers at high school?

 ·          Do you work only with other students of your minority, or do you work
             at extending your study and friendship to students of other
             minorities?  or to be all inclusive?

·          How do you interact with students in your high school classes?

·          How do you interact with your teachers?

·          What are your coping skills like?

·          Can you blow off situations or do you worry and get angry about them for extended periods of time?

If your honest self-evaluation results in mostly positive answers, then you have a good chance of succeeding at college. If they are not, then there is additional preparation for you to do.

You need to spend a lot of time analyzing yourself with the result of a well-constructed set of goals and the plans to attain them, which need to include

 ·          Skills and interests

            Positive attitude

            Strong work ethic

Toolkit for Success

Some of the tips and tricks that should be in your tool kit are:

·          As with high school, realize that not everyone is going to accept readily accept you.

·          Find a minority role model and/or mentor on campus.

            Become a friend. Be a good friend to all – that is one of they key ways to be a decent human being regardless of skin color or ethnic origin.

 ·          Be a class act! This will get you through a lot of tough situations.

 ·          Hone your study and time management skills.

 ·          You have to do the work and do your personal best.

 ·          Be persistent. Be dedicated.

 ·          Take care of your health. Eat well. Take steps to minimize or defuse
             stress.

Your personal success is additionally based on how you view yourself within the scope of your culture and as an individual. How do you want to be remembered? When you look back at your life and what do you want remember about yourself and what you have accomplished?

 How do you make constructive change and how do you gather the tools you’ll need to take out into the world after college?

 ·          Be a class act.

·          Go to class all the time and be on time.

·            Participate in discussions – this is your ownership in the course.

·            Believe that you can do it.

·            Surround yourself with people who also believe you can do it.

·          Be a cheerleader to those who need it.

·          Be a good friend.

·          Find a strong support structure.

·          Join a cultural group on campus.

·          Study – no one is going to give you anything for free.

·          Get the best grades possible.

·          Get to know your professors.

·          Join a culturally based organization.

·          Learn from other minority students who handle situations well.

·          Learn from your experiences.

·          Get involved in extracurricular activities outside your cultural connection.

·          If you are active in a religion, try and stay involved.

·          Work on making good life choices regarding

                        Relationships

            Sex

                        Alcohol

            Drugs

                        Ethical questions

·          Be yourself – but you have to know yourself first.

·          Learn to resolve conflicts constructively.

·            Actions have consequences – good or bad positive/negative.

Of yourself, expect the best. Of others, expect and demand the best. You deserve it. Excellence is the best combatant to racism. Demand respect for yourself by giving respect.

Being a "Class Act" no matter what 

It is human nature to be afraid of the unknown, to be afraid of what is not exactly like you are. If you are on a primarily white campus, you may be the target of some of those fears. How you react to those fears will set the stage for your success on that campus and the degree of success for those who follow you. By reacting in a class act manner, this will help to eventually heal the ignorance that is the basis for racial fear.

Time Out 

Being a class act doesn’t mean not reacting to a different or wrong situation. It means reacting constructively and with respect. It means working toward positive change for yourself and others.

Keep in mind that for every piece of misinformation based on the unknown, another student may have about you, you may have an equal amount of misinformation about him/her. College, more than any other time and place in your life, offers the chance to learn diversity. Diversity of the course work you take, professors you’ll meet and students of many colors and backgrounds. The more constructive experiences and exposure the various races have to each other, the more understanding will exist among the various groups. Tolerance needs to start as soon as possible, beginning in the home and school.

No matter where you attend college, you will be confronted with racism. How you react is vital to your success in college and in life. Very simplistically it gets down to the question of

How do you personally deal with your own anger?

 With your anger you have a choice to make. You can use your anger to destroy (which will eventually destroy you and those around you). Or you can use your anger to constructively change the environment that lead to the racism.

 Our goal as a society, if we are to survive as a cohesive world in the 21^st Century, needs to a balanced outlook toward life and its peoples. No one group is more perfect than another. All cultures have incredible people who have made great contributions to their culture and the world as a whole. All cultures have obnoxious individuals and groups who are destructive and evil.

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