For anyone who is blissfully unaware of the Vector LMS, Higher Education Student Edition website, let me just say that you should enjoy your luck while it lasts.
Why? Because it means you somehow escaped a harbinger of misery meant to be a well-intentioned symbol of 67% of American colleges’ commitment to diversity and inclusion (as reported by the Goldwater Institute). While the idea of educating students on discrimination and understanding others better is good, Oxy handles this in a way that completely undermines the purpose of the training.
And since this is the case, I’ll just go over all the pitfalls that were missed in the process.
1) Information is only as good as how it’s presented.
With serious topics, it can be a natural instinct for educators to try and make them more palatable by any means necessary. While I do understand that certain topics are harder to discuss than others, cringey videos with unrealistic scenarios won’t help anyone fully comprehend the dangers of alcohol or how to talk to a friend about their mental health.
One of my biggest issues with these lessons is that they always fail to acknowledge the complexity of the topics they’re supposed to cover. Real life is messy, and even if we do all the right things, there’s no guarantee that everything will end with smiles on our faces. Knowing this, do we see the issue with the curriculum projecting that anytime someone we care about has a problem, there will always be a magic sentence or action that can change everything?
Questionable acting aside, why is it that the person in need of help always relents and accepts your aid should you happen to say the “right” thing? Even if you say the suggested words, there’s no guarantee someone will open up to you or that you’ll find a solution together — especially if you’re unfamiliar with someone. Weirdly enough, the scenarios in the trainings always involve close friends or family, but never classmates or other acquaintances.
2) What’s understood doesn’t need to be said.
You would think that a college that boasts about having such a diverse student body would be aware of the challenges some students face. Since said students are stuck doing these trainings, probably not as much as they’d like us to think.
I say this because as a Black woman in America, I find it highly absurd that I need a kindergarten walkthrough on what discrimination is, especially when having already faced it. As unfortunate as it is, a lot of minority students are well aware of what their country thinks of them before they reach their teenage years.
Oxy needs to put more of its efforts into making this school a genuine safe space for those who need it. If Oxy truly cares about promoting diversity and alleviating discrimination, more meaningful steps need to be taken to make it happen. There’s a variety of affinity groups, social justice clubs and well-meaning students on campus. Give them a real opportunity to help this place align with Occidental’s vision. The time we’re all required to spend on these trainings could be better spent on student outreach and implementing things we want to see. Not only would it be more impactful, but it would bring the desired results of training to life without the boredom.
3) If your plan of action gives any “woke is bad” person a field day…it’s not a good plan.
Yes, I fully recognize that the “anti-woke” movement often comes from a place of bigotry and people parroting ancient politicians. However, if we consider “wokeness” in the proper context, which is to be aware of social issues, then we still have gone overboard with these trainings. It’s bad enough that they are mandated assignments over break (and weren’t mentioned in any enrollment info), but when such important topics are treated as nothing more than homework assignments, you’re not truly helping students realize why these topics matter. There’s no empathy or genuine understanding that can come from these soulless assignments; it’s just a job.
Cultivating a welcoming learning environment for students is an ongoing process. It’s never going to be a one-and-done kind of thing because you have to observe what works, what doesn’t and talk to students and faculty to make things better. However, with constant training assignments and lectures about the same set of topics, it feels like Oxy is attempting to take a shortcut past a lot of the work that goes into creating the happy campus it wants.
Contact Kamaria Williams at kwilliams4@oxy.edu
