Do better
I am a black masculine presenting female who works on campus and the level of discrimination is beyond distasteful.
The kicker is…I would expect it to come from a stereotypical group of people…but it doesn’t.
In particular, it’s coming from majority of middle eastern individuals.
The stares are unnecessary. The behaviors/mannerisms insinuating that my presence bothers you is beyond me. It’s funny but quite annoying.
I’ve gone to the gym over the summer, minding my business, and for some reason, they have continuously made it a point to come over to where I am stationed, stare at me while they pretend to be”stretch” for literally 5 seconds, and then walk away.
Every. Single. Time. And it’s not just one person…usually 3-4 have come over doing the EXACT SAME THING. And at first, I was like hmm, maybe they are afraid to ask if they can use the machine…but no. I’ve observed other people who were using the space I normally do (who was there before me) and nobody walks over there to “stretch” but as soon as I go over there, here comes the herd! This has gone on from May to now.
And another thing..I access the residence halls as part of my role, every time I walk in…stares as I hand them my card. There are some who obviously see my hand out to retrieve my card and they just put it down on the desk as if I bother them.
As someone who values my professional standing, I have to actively choose to not cuss them out. But it’s coming to the point that I’m not going to keep receiving the disrespect nor discrimination because YOU have a personal problem with my self expression.
If you, Northeastern University, make it a mission to foster a community of “Belonging”, you need to do better. Better with ensuring that cultural competency is an active mobilizer on campus. Better with ensuring that students, faculty, staff, and the full community are properly taught and held accountable on equity, inclusion, justice, and diversity. And better with ensuring those that are part of this University are active contributors in anti-bias.