Pervasive Social Justice

Welcome to 2017. January is the month of resolutions, positivity, and overall excitement for all the things to come in the New Year. This January also marks the inauguration of President-Elect Donald Trump. I'm fairly young so I haven't lived through a lot of presidencies, but 2016 and the election of Trump has brought a lot of visible discontent throughout the country. It's also brought social justice and inclusivity to the forefront of everyone’s mind.

If you’re in a higher education/student affairs program or graduated from one in the last 10 years, you’ve probably been trained to try to incorporate social justice and inclusivity into your daily efforts at work. As student affairs professionals we are used to using life’s little moments as “educational opportunities” to help students develop empathy, compassion, and some knowledge about those who differ from them. Over this past election cycle, the conversation around issues of inclusivity has turned into what I call “Pervasive Social Justice.” In many ways, this is what many of us have wanted. We thought that the opportunity for topics such as racism, islamophobia, and heterosexism to be at the forefront of national dialogue would increase knowledge, understanding and acceptance. I think that this has been true for some people, but we’ve also seen people take the opportunity to spout hate toward others and gather mass support for those statements. Marginalized groups have been continually forced to replay what harmful things people have said every night when they turn on the news. People who have conservative beliefs are being grouped with people who actively and knowingly commit hate crimes. Fake news stories are (or are not?) being passed around on Facebook creating false narratives about national politics. The increased illusion of dialogue has resulted in almost no dialogue across difference as people dig their heels into the ground.

As an entry level professional in a liberal state, there's a fine line that must be walked between supporting students during this political climate. I have to navigate supporting students in need, listening to frustrations from students who aren't as intimately affected, and being with others who want to celebrate the victory of their candidate and their ideals. Each of these conversations requires a certain finesse, and can go terribly wrong if you’re not sure what the student wants to get out of their conversation with you. As I’ve begun to navigate working with students through their issues, I’ve found these strategies helpful.

1. Always remember that you don’t know the backstory of the student. Sometimes I find myself connecting (or not connecting) with students for a variety of reasons. There have been times when a student starts to talk to me about something, and based on our relationship, I feel that I know their angle before they finish the story. This can happen subconsciously, especially if it’s someone you’ve interacted with for a couple of years. Try to ward yourself off of this. It can be very awkward when you think someone is about to complain about a political leader, and they’re instead praising their political prowess.
2. Don’t let your knowledge of a topic impede your ability to hear the student. Politically, I consider myself moderate, and as a former student of political science, I can actually explain to people how the electoral college works and what the exact powers the executive branch holds in the constitution. So listening to election talk, both before and after, has been really painful. The number of misguided, uneducated things that people say really hurts my head sometimes. However, when I’m interacting with students I have to remember that they don’t have the same level of knowledge as I do about some things. There are also students out there who know a lot more about topics than I do. It always helps to ask questions about a student’s point. Not only can that help you gain clarity about a viewpoint, you might also learn something.  
3. Take the opportunity to be an educator! If you have a student that’s really interested in politics, but not as interested in learning why they should know about your multicultural center(s), this is your opportunity to talk about the intersection of ethnicity and politics. Have you had a hard time explaining how marginalized groups may continue to face difficulties/prejudice even if they’ve technically moved out of one marginalized group? This is our opportunity to have major events be an opportunity to educate our students and ourselves. There are so many great blog posts and news articles being written about the real life experiences of marginalized groups in a post-election society. Take the time to read some of those for yourself, and share out to your students and colleagues.

These are just a few reminders that I always find helpful when entering conversations with students around politics and social justice. I am not an expert, but then again I don’t know who is right now. As long as our intentions are good and our support is real, we’re doing good work.

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Love Wallace is a Residence Hall Director at a large public school in New England. She also serves as the New Professionals and Graduate Students Region I KC representative. She is an avid reader and loves to combine her passion for social justice, student affairs, and literature.