Confronting stereotypes

This is the first of a four-part series about diversity at Providence College. The series will address diversity in a variety of forms and will include accounts from students, as well as suggestions, proposals, and ideas for reform from other members of the College and the greater community.

Growing up in Queens, N.Y., Ray Cross '08 lived in a predominantly black neighborhood with little opportunity for education. 

Of his five closest friends, two dropped out during their junior year of high school, one was placed in special education classes from the fourth grade on, and two left college after freshmen year because they felt they had been inadequately prepared. Cross, 20, was the only one who has stayed in college and done well academically. But when asked to elaborate on his academic success, he cannot help but be reminded of derogatory comments he hears regularly from students at Providence College.

 "No one really knows that I deserve to be here. People question why I am on this campus," said Cross, who is originally from Trinidad. "It puts me in a tough spot: It makes me feel like I should have to explain myself to everyone."

 Some students, he noted, will ask him in conversation how he got into PC, believing he was only accepted because of affirmative action policies, which the College does not have. In actuality, Cross was valedictorian of his class, had a 3.9 GPA, and was involved in theatre and athletics.

 While living in Queens, Cross attended a predominantly white, Jewish school where he said he never experienced racism. It wasn't until he and his family moved to Cumberland, R.I., and a classmate called him a derogatory name in the sixth grade that he learned just how hurtful words can be. While attending high school at St. Andrew's Academy in Barrington, R.I., Cross was surrounded by an ethnically diverse group of students, quite different from PC, where the student body is 83.6 percent white.

 Cross, who was deciding between going to Tufts University and PC, said he considered the College's homogeneous environment but ultimately came here because of the scholarship money he was awarded. Though he has enjoyed some aspects of his time at PC, Cross said the College's lack of diversity has made him feel compelled to defend his race and dispel the stereotypes that abound in society.

 "People think that every black student on this campus is on the basketball team," said Cross. Though he was a member of the basketball team for two years before leaving to dedicate more time to schoolwork, Cross has many black friends at PC who are not on the team.

 Other misconceptions, he noted, are that all black people are lazy, confrontational, and loud, don't like to do their work, take the easy way out, always listen to rap music, and only spend time with other blacks. "At the same time, no one questions why a group of Caucasians hang out together," said Cross, who loves writing poetry and listens to Maroon 5, India.Arie, and the All-American Rejects.

 At times, Cross has not only been the victim of racial profiling at the College but also of hateful remarks and offenses. Earlier in the semester while walking to Fennell Hall on a Saturday night, a group of PC students passed by him and remarked, "We just walked by the campus ghetto."

Another time, students called Cross and his black roommate a derogatory name and threw two-liter bottles of soda at them without an explanation. Once at nighttime, a female PC student got out of a PC shuttle, saw Cross and his friends, said, "Uh oh," and ran away in the opposite direction.

"It's so over the top. It's like a slap in the face," said Cross. "It's rough because my first reaction is to say something or do more than that, but I feel I have no choice but to hold my tongue." Such racism stems, he believes, from ignorance, negative experiences with minorities in the past, and a lack of understanding of other cultures. "I don't think there's one way to justify or explain it. I would hope it's not all out of hatred," Cross said. 

 He noted that one of the best ways to combat racism and hatred is to talk about diversity in the classroom setting. A sociology major with a double minor in black studies and women's studies, Cross said he has found many students to be accepting in his classes, where he often engages in detailed discussions about racial and ethnic diversity, inequality, and racism.

 "The classes I'm in tend to attract students who want to get a better understanding of what it's like to be a minority," Cross said. "It's just nice to see people who want to help the cause, who want to hear your story-people who want to get to know the real you."

 Often, minority students find comfort in the interactions they have with students of similar backgrounds. Tiffany Foynes '07, a Chinese American from Braintree, Mass., has developed several friendships with other members of the College's Asian American Association with whom she shares her heritage.

 "Being able to talk with the few other Chinese students about how we spent Chinese New Year or where we went last Sunday for Dim Sum is comforting and calming," Foynes said.

Looking back on her four years in the classroom setting, Foynes does not recall having ever experienced racism from faculty or staff but nevertheless believes that more members of the administration need to understand the value of diversity in the classroom. 

"I believe that having different ideas and viewpoints in the classroom contributes much to our learning and to our awareness," she said.

 Students who lack, or choose to ignore, this awareness have discriminated against Foynes for her ethnicity, she said. Because she is part American, some students cannot tell from first glance that she is Chinese and will make derogatory comments in her presence.

"I feel that many Caucasian students are more willing to make racist remarks when no minorities are around. Whether it is a joke, an impression, or a mere mention of a stereotype, some students are unaware that they are being discriminatory," Foynes said. "Even if they do not necessarily intend to be prejudiced or hurtful, they are being no less racist."