#respectfuldifference

Working in Higher Ed has taught me to be aware and conscious of students and the issues that affect their experience in the college setting. As a white woman I am also aware of my inherent privilege, I am aware that it is impossible for me to understand the development and everyday life that a person of color lives.

I just recently posted my review of Hairspray which highlights a problem with race in America and the inequity that exists between black and white. The original movie made in 1988 has 1962 as its setting. Then, as if race is not something that is part of daily life, the Ferguson decision pushes things into the national spotlight for a few minutes. 

Then this evening I attended an event with my public library and started a conversation about race and privilege with six other white women who were there to share their most recent read. I shared that I am reading A Time To Kill by John Grisham which is set in 1984. I have read this novel before and I have seen the movie but we talked tonight about race and how conversations about Michael Brown and Treyvon Martin bring these same issues to the national stage that are found in Hairspray and A Time to Kill. This film and book were created over 30 years ago. Thirty. 

For the book group tonight we were asked to bring a word cloud describing our books. Mine included words like ethics, inequity, criminal justice system prejudice, politics in the police and justice system, along with words like race and violence. This group of women of varying ages talked about our privilege and how we want to encourage others to have conversations just like this. 

One could argue that our circle was a relatively safe space for us to be honest. For some of us this was the fourth month in a row we had spent the evening discussing books we all have read. From my experience working with students, they find themselves in a safe space when they are in a group that looks like them. No matter the attempts that we as Higher Ed professionals to create safe spaces for our students to discuss their concerns, address their problems, and learn the resources that we can offer to move things in the direction of their choosing. But as white administrators we may never be able to create that space for our students of color. There are times when I mistake my feelings here as frustration rather than inspiration to continue to try harder to be an asset to these students. I am not afraid to start a conversation about race and I am not afraid to be part of conversations that confirm my privilege that I know is there. 

I will continue to communicate this to students I see everyday and I will continue to be part of the group of educators that advocate for these populations. Student growth and development is just awesome to see first hand and I have yet to find a year where I did not learn things as well. The collegiate environment is ripe to host these conversations and encourage our students to respect one another, disagree at times, support one another and their ability to express themselves, and learn from one another. I am lucky to be part of such a process that can help us to stop hearing the same words describe movies, novels, and news stories thirty years from now. 

I will continue to try to create that safe space for my students. I will continue to start, participate, and facilitate conversations about race, racism, inequity, privilege, or anything else that students need or should be talking about. I am not afraid of these topics nor am I afraid of learning the things that I could not possibly understand first hand. I will also continue to be an advocate for students in the four years they are here to learn.
 

"Word Crimes"

How many of you have listened to Weird Al's new songs? Or seen the videos? Well I LOVE his song Word Crimes. If you have not seen it you should click here and watch it. Then you should watch it again and look at the part about the word crimes committed in blogs. 

I know that I write how I speak. It has been confirmed since I started this blog project. I also recognize that grammar is not one of my skills. Good thing for me I have lots of other skills, nunchuck skills and I am pretty good with a bow staff. So I am not too bothered about my inability to use proper grammar. This song brought all the faults of bloggers everywhere to the mainstream-well some of us bloggers. Those professionals don't have these problems... 

Good Morning Baltimore!

Have you ever heard of John Waters? He is a great filmmaker from Baltimore with a pencil mustache. I have two favorite movies and one of them was made by John Waters and I am not going to reveal that one until we get there in the countdown. 

My first favorite movie I only own on VHS- it is called Paris When it Sizzles staring Audrey Hepburn and William Holden. I will review that film for the blog if we get to the VHS reviews. Since I have been so good at maintaining and continuing to blog with just the DVDs eh?

Anyhoo, John Waters was the first guy to make the move Hairspray. I own both copies and the story is very similar, which is refreshing. You know how when people remake films these days and they change the story itself which is not really re-making a movie in my opinion. The 1988 version is better, of course, but I enjoyed both films.

The movie follows Tracy Turnblad and her love of the Corny Collins show, a popular dance TV show in Baltimore. Tracy is a progressive young lady in the 1960s when the movie takes place. Not only does she weigh more than the other girls on the Corny Collins show, she is also asks a lot of questions about Negro Day. Negro Day is one time a month where black teenagers can dance and be on the Corny Collins Show. There are other important characters like Link Larkin (Amber then Tracy's boyfriend), Amber Von Tussle (the too beautiful girl with the pushy parents who used to be the fav on Corny Collins), and Penny Pingleton (Tracy's bestie) that help in Tracy's adventures. 

Tracy wins the popularity of viewers of the Corny Collins show, becomes a show regular and she does not understand why Negro Day cannot be everyday. She sings some songs, Penny falls in love with Seaweed, a black teenager show who is the son of the Negro Day co-host of the Corny Collins Show, Motormouth Maybelle, and Tracy inspires a race riot in Baltimore. 

These two movies have lots of great messages, Tracy as the spokesperson for Mr. Pinky's Hefty Hideaway that specializes in plus sized clothes is a great vehicle to start discussions about body image and the role it plays in this film. Especially if you factor in the pressures with zits, big hair, Amber's pressures to be what her parents decide is "perfect," you can have quite the discussion with your residents after watching this film.

The easiest program to plan with this film is to talk about race and how it is portrayed in this story and you can compare that to how race is portrayed today. Conversations about race are important in everywhere, but especially in the residence halls in institutions of higher education. Respectful discourse about race and the differences among us is how we learn about each other. College is a place where we learn about ourselves and in that context we learn to make decisions about things for ourselves that will influence our outlook on life. This film can spark that conversation and by bringing in information about current events that involve race, for example Ferguson, MO, a program that features this film could be successful in helping students learn outside the classroom.