Individual Number One: Non-white graduate student
Response: “I feel like, its, I don’t know if its much different from the political climate here. It depends on your immigration status. Here, its mostly Latin American. The African-American context is something they’ve been struggling with since slavery ended. Marginalized, overlooked population. Politics: tactics, easy to say that these people are the problems and issues. But in reality, it has to do with social, economic problems. Race is a mask. In the US, the media shows more poor blacks than poor whites.
Individual Number Two: White graduate student (Public administration with a focus on transportation)
Response: “The first word that comes to mind is divisive. Its very controversial, something that’s more of a popular consciousness through the mainstream news channels. The window to that is police brutality, but before that it was occupy, the financial, social inequality, class structure. Plays out in other areas in terms of education, the important of equal education. Bias, who has access. Access to political power as well.”
Reflection: We interviewed both of these individuals as they were studying in Mary Gates Hall—they appeared like they weren’t too busy and could spare a minute or two. Both were female graduate students. One was white; the other was not. They both had very keen insight into the matter. It felt a bit awkward to ask about minorities because race and ethnicity are things that as a society, we tend to shy away from discussing. I think they were a bit taken aback about being asked about minorities in such a straightforward manner—by two students who looked white. I think keeping in mind your own biases, and how you are perceived by others when interviewing, is important so that the people you are interviewing feel comfortable opening up to you.
I was pretty comfortable about this assignment having just interviewed eleven students about their Arab-American identity for my independent research project. But I did notice that there was a boundary in that I look white, and asking about minorities makes me look like some sort of “concerned white person” who really doesn’t understand what its like to be a minority, even though as an Arab-American I consider myself to be in the minority (I just happen to have very white skin). I think responses would have been different had I not looked white, but I don’t know how that would have been different if I was a non-white asking a white person vs. a non-white asking a non-white person. In general, my experiences interviewing people demonstrate that most people are willing to talk to you if you approach them correctly (with a sense of humility, understanding, and respect).
Response: “I feel like, its, I don’t know if its much different from the political climate here. It depends on your immigration status. Here, its mostly Latin American. The African-American context is something they’ve been struggling with since slavery ended. Marginalized, overlooked population. Politics: tactics, easy to say that these people are the problems and issues. But in reality, it has to do with social, economic problems. Race is a mask. In the US, the media shows more poor blacks than poor whites.
Individual Number Two: White graduate student (Public administration with a focus on transportation)
Response: “The first word that comes to mind is divisive. Its very controversial, something that’s more of a popular consciousness through the mainstream news channels. The window to that is police brutality, but before that it was occupy, the financial, social inequality, class structure. Plays out in other areas in terms of education, the important of equal education. Bias, who has access. Access to political power as well.”
Reflection: We interviewed both of these individuals as they were studying in Mary Gates Hall—they appeared like they weren’t too busy and could spare a minute or two. Both were female graduate students. One was white; the other was not. They both had very keen insight into the matter. It felt a bit awkward to ask about minorities because race and ethnicity are things that as a society, we tend to shy away from discussing. I think they were a bit taken aback about being asked about minorities in such a straightforward manner—by two students who looked white. I think keeping in mind your own biases, and how you are perceived by others when interviewing, is important so that the people you are interviewing feel comfortable opening up to you.
I was pretty comfortable about this assignment having just interviewed eleven students about their Arab-American identity for my independent research project. But I did notice that there was a boundary in that I look white, and asking about minorities makes me look like some sort of “concerned white person” who really doesn’t understand what its like to be a minority, even though as an Arab-American I consider myself to be in the minority (I just happen to have very white skin). I think responses would have been different had I not looked white, but I don’t know how that would have been different if I was a non-white asking a white person vs. a non-white asking a non-white person. In general, my experiences interviewing people demonstrate that most people are willing to talk to you if you approach them correctly (with a sense of humility, understanding, and respect).