IHEP- a DC adventure!

Our time at IHEP was very informative and interesting. During our time there we talked about many of the projects that the Institute is working on. One of the most interesting is the initiative with Wal*Mart. I am still very hesitant about the fact that Wal*Mart is funding this success initiative. The employee over this project said that Wal*Mart approached IHEP and the overall intent is attempting to revamp their image. That's neither here nor there I guess- I am just not a proponent of taking dirty money but I suppose in that point of view almost everything could be traced back to dirty money, but you can always try to do your best!

Enough of my rambling...I think the best aspect about our trip to the Institute for Higher Education was learning about the projects and research that is done to help advance MSI's... very enriching, especially because this semester I feel like we have been asking "What can we do?"- but IHEP IS doing... they are helping MSI's plan programs that increase retention of first-year generations students and help students to gain skills to graduate. I thought it was great hear what the different positions oversaw and all of the aspects that went into making the institute both functional and influential. The most important nugget of knowledge that I took away from our trip is the fact that there are people working towards a better influence for higher education. Sometimes it seems like, having to count on administration is like a promise unfulfilled. But it is reassuring to know that there are people and institutes out there campaigning for underrepresented populations.

Identity Negotiation

Well! Leave it to a researcher to take something as complicated as Identity and be able to put it into a theory! Actually, I have known about identity theory for some time- but when I learned about it, I "thought" I knew who I was, where I was going, what I would be doing....hmmm NOPE!

Anyway, on Thursday, April 14th during International Week at George Mason (OBVIOUSLY one of my favorite weeks!!!) We attended a session on identity negotiation. We started by doing an icebreaker (LOVE*) to talk with different people in the room. I must say, this was a tough* one- It had statements like

"(Name of person) grew up differently than I did and I learned (huge blank) from talking to this person"!

-and-
"(Name of person) has a different sexual orientation than I do and I learned (huge blank) from talking to this person".

-and-
"(Name of person) has a different religion than I do and I learned (huge blank) from talking to this person"

Now... I don't have to say that I am an open person and I ADORE* meeting new people.. but this was VERY difficult... another one was race. Walking up to someone and asking about one of their identities? It was sort of like the bingo icebreaker where once one spot is filled- then you have to fill up all of the others. I was able to fill in the race blank as well as the religion-which I would say were some of the easier ones. I did however, stay away from the sexual orientation blank. However, comfortable I am with talking to people and asking them questions- I am not about to go up to someone ask them if they have a different sexual orientation than me (ASSUMPTIONS) and then walk away if they don't and I had assumed that they did. Anyway- we then listened to the introduction of some panelists that talked about how they identified (American- Iranian- LGBTQ-Muslim etc.) and then we were put into groups to discuss an Identity Negotiation Strategy Matrix. This was mostly based on communication approaches and how some styles can have weaknesses. We were charged with finding the "best" one... so my group talked about it and had decided that we were going to say something different to create some devil's advocacy discussion. But then...

FIREDRILL!!!!

Which lasted until about 6:50pm.. so most of the session was over. But during the firedrill- our class stood together and chatter. It was a nice moment because we really all stood together and chatted about this class and classes we were taking in the fall- I realized that although we have had some of the deepest discussions that I have ever had and we did our cultural cajitas.... we still didn't know each other very well! So I think that overall from this session- I learned that you can have your own identity in mind...and you can feel comfortable around people and the thoughts that you have around yourself...but with different situations, that can always be altered, especially in a sudden way.

Class Consciousness Discussion: Intersections of Class and LGBTQ Identity

For Pride Week I attended the Thursday afternoon event on the intersections of the LGBTQ identity and class. I chose to go to this event because the topic was something that I had never thought about before. I have these days where I intend to only listen- as sometimes my mouth and thoughts run away with me- these days are my attempting to create my own filter. Eventually, I hope to espouse the quote "To listen well is as powerful a means of communication and influence as to talk well"-one day after many "listening" days. Anyway, when I entered I knew that I would not be doing any talking, no matter how many opinions that I had, so I sat on the floor and looked at the people around me. The room was completely filled, with a lot of women and a few men. At first, I thought that the discussion was being led by the Women and Gender Studies' director, Suzanne Scott. After a couple of minutes, I realized that the room appeared to consist of familiar supporters and friends of the two women that were the actual leaders of the discussion. As everyone threw in their comments about inequalities between the impoverished and the LGBTQ community. It was interesting to hear everyone's thoughts about the topic at hand, especially since I had not thought about it before.

The one aspect that I took away from this discussion is one of personal matters. As my partner and I have planned for the past couple of years, we are attempting to leave for the Peace Corps, together. This has always seemed natural to me- some people are surprised when they ask and I tell them about our goal, but the idea of going together is the best possible situation. However, when sitting amongst those who were recognizing social injustices, I realized I am plopped in the midst of one without even noticing.

-I am married to a man

-I want to join the Peace Corps

- Married couples are allowed to apply to join the Peace Corps together, when they have been married for a calender year.

But... under the law, a married couple consists of a man and a woman. Obviously, it hit me like a ton of bricks, as I hope it did you when you realize the same thing. I looked around the room taking notice that some of these people are giving their lives to helping this and other causes. They volunteer and work to end all kinds of repression but would be unable to volunteer abroad with their own partners in the Peace Corps. If two of those women were romantically involved and chose to serve their country in one of the best ways possible, unless by some crazy occurrence- it would be very unlikely that they would be placed together. I would consider the institution of marriage to be very flexible- poor, rich, middle-class, any person in those categories can marry. Short, fat, tall, skinny, black or white- all of those people can marry. Inside, outside, destination, small or big- it doesn't matter the way or how. But somehow, in our modern world that always seems to work towards helping one cause or another- there are still injustices that treat people as though they are inferior in some way- as if they are a lower class, and how that was being perpetuated just as women weren't allowed to vote and African-Americans weren't allowed to drink at the same water fountain. The very discussion that was happening right in front of me. Don't policy-makers realize, just as they did with the struggle to fight "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", that all of these oppressive acts are very similar? That by looking back into history, they are very much alike? One could argue right now, that yes, they do have similarities but are not relatable. And to that I would respond- obviously, you need a listening day too.