Microaggression Effects On Students

Microaggression and Its Impact On Students

Minority students attending elite and prestigious universities are more often faced by notions of "microaggressions" than their rich counterparts leading to conflict between both groups on campus and spilling over into the rest of U.S. society. With the definition of microaggression differing between both groups of students, the minority students believe that the universities and the traditional student body they serve cannot or fail to identify problems being felt by the minority students. This lack of communication has led to polarizing identity politics and a sense of an "us vs. them" mentality on both sides, where the conflict caused by "microaggression" has reached an all time high after the

2016 presidential elections.
Microaggression has been stated to have "originated in the 1970s and referred to subtle, often unconscious racist affronts. The definition has expanded in recent years to include anything that can be perceived as discriminatory on virtually any basis." (Haidt par. 42). With this definition and its evolution into modern times, we can see that microaggression carries with it racist undertones that can be used to unconsciously or consciously oppress minorities on campus, especially when dealing with their richer and "privileged" counterparts. Microaggression has its roots tied into the political correctness spectrum where trigger warnings also play a role where they can be used to "protect" minority students from speech insinuating racist, sexist, or violent overtones to include microaggressions. Minority students thus believe that "Colleges are charged with providing an education in an environment in which everyone feels welcome." (Runyowa par. 8) and that the rich students along with university faculty can use more empathy in order to make minority students feel welcome on campus, such as that of Oberlin College. The rich students on the other hand feel as if the minority students need to grow thicker skin and move on with their life by stating elite universities are there to educate and prepare students for the rigors of the "real" world where many career fields and corporations fail to coddle and protect their employees. Thus these two conflicting viewpoints galvanize both groups into an "us vs. them" situation where collaboration in fixing the root issues are outweighed by petty tribalism between both groups.
This leads us into comparing the two different environments of a community college and elite universities.

In Rebecca Cox's "The College Fear Factor," the reader is exposed to the routines and fears of being a student attending a community college. The students interviewed for the book appeared to fear adapting to the life a college student and the fear of failing more than they were concerned about how microaggression affected them. This can be attributed to the fact that community colleges offer a more diverse student body where students share similar life experiences. Social class, gender, and races come in second when the students are attempting college for the first time than compared to minority students who attend elite schools and face a new and alien culture to them; That of the students who are rich and privileged and are able to more easily afford these elite universities. Students who by the fortune of being born into privilege may not have known or felt the struggles that a minority student on campus would face. For example, minorities "[...] are severely underrepresented on most campuses. At Oberlin, for instance, black students form only 5.2 percent of students, Hispanic students 7.2 percent, and Asian Americans 4.2 percent. Minorities, by virtue of their being in the minority, do not and cannot exert robust social control of any kind at elite universities like Oberlin." (Runyowa par. 18). In losing the diverse environment that community colleges face, the

students lose the common enemy that is higher level academia courses and the class conflict that exists in society finds its way onto the campuses of elite universities.
While microaggressions can sometimes appear as unconscious and racist affronts, there are times where these slights can actually be deliberate attacks against minority students on campuses. One such example is that of the writer of "Microaggression Matters" where "Because my name is Simba, a name Americans associate with animal [...]" (Runyowa par. 2) when talking to a fellow student who brought up that their dog's name was also Simba. When minority students face microaggression on campus, they can feel as if they are being oppressed by an institution that was forced to accept them into their university and that "[...] it calls your presence in that institution into question and magnifies your difference in ways that can be alienating." (Runyowa par. 9). These feelings can be true of any outsider becoming part of a new and alien culture and environment. The incoming minority students feel unwelcome at an institution of learning while the rich students feel as if the incoming minority students must adapt to their culture by growing thicker skin instead of attempting to bend the university to their will by enacting policies of political correctness. This political correctness is believed by the rich student on campus and their proponents to be "[...] creating a culture in which everyone must think twice before speaking up, lest they face charges of insensitivity, aggression, or worse." (Haidt par. 5). Elite universities thus have become hotbeds of conflicting viewpoints, protests, and activism; One side fighting against injustice and microaggressions against minority students on campus and the other side fighting against what they believe are problems that are blown out of proportion and seeking to keep the academic integrity of the elite universities as a site for rational discourse and argument.
This conflict between groups on campus has thus affected everyone attending the elite universities. From the deteriorating mental health of students who feel persecuted and do not want a part of the identity politics taking place, to people on campus both student and faculty alike becoming victims of witch hunts from both sides. One such example is that of accounting instructor Hyung-il Jung who "[...] was suspended after a student reported that Jung had made a threatening comment during a review session." (Haidt par. 50). The comment in question was in response to a long study session where Jung stated that "Am I on a killing spree or what?” (Haidt par. 50). This shows us how one professor was essentially caught between the crossfire of the ideals of two groups and punished for a simple and joking comment. Minority students have now begun unintentionally hurting their own cause at the prodding of the rich and privileged students who have created a group that fears them due to identity politics and perceived microaggressions.
The concept of microaggressions and political correctness debate on campus has now led to division and conflict on a wider scale throughout the U.S.

In recent news, Milo Yiannopolous had planned a visit to the UC Berkeley campus at the request of the student Republican body. Many minority students who were familiar with the content of Yiannopolous' visit planned to protest what they viewed as hate speech. Berkeley has now become the site of violent protests between groups such as Antifa and Black Lives Matter against conservative groups in support of Yiannopolous and President Trump where both groups fight in order to obtain the moral high ground without actually communicating and collaborating with each other with ways to stop the fighting and violence. This leads us to a case where we have two groups shouting at each other without actually listening to what the opposing side has to say. This division is not just specific to the campuses of elite universities now but to everyday society as well. With the recent presidential election in the U.S. as well has the primary and caucus elections politics came to extremes in the nation. Reports of hate groups attacking minorities at Trump rallies and terroristic threats of death against white people by leftist organizations have become daily occurrences. This conflict between ideals has thus led to negative consequences on everyone involved being felt through educational institutions, places of employment, and in many communities

people call home. It stands to say that everyone involved is considered a loser until open dialogue, critical thinking and reasoning, and logic take hold once again so both sides can do their part in healing and uniting communities once more.
During such tumultuous times in the U.S., especially after recent events on campuses and the 2016 presidential election it is imperative now more than ever to leave identity politics to the side and unite as a community in order to fix systematic problems prevalent in society. Elite universities and the students attending their institutions must now find ways to work together and prevent further conflict from spreading on campuses and into the rest of society. The rich and privileged students must empathize with the plights of their minority counterparts and assist them when necessary while the minority students must use their life experiences to overcome the obstacle of feeling alienated from these elite universities. Through shared adversity and finding common ground, both groups can come out stronger in support of each other and find a way to better define microaggression for each other.