CSA Day
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THE MEREDITH
HERALD
@meredithherald
@ @meredith_herald
^ @meredith_herald
//\ff meredithherald.com
April 6, 2022
Using Sensitive Language in the Classroom
By Evelyn Summers, Staff Writer
Trigger warning: Mentions of
racism and homophobia
The Meredith Herald
recently received a report of a
professor using a slur in the class
room. After receiving this tip, The
Herald investigated similar stu
dent experiences and reached out
to college administration to hear
about what the college’s proce
dures are for such scenarios.
“In my class, we were
having a discussion about sex
ed in schools,” Kate Polaski, ‘23,
explained. Polaski said that after
reading an article, their “teacher
was listing advancements that had
been made for queer students over
time, one of which was the fact
that we ‘don't say the f-slur any
more.’”
In what she called “a mo
ment of terrifying irony,” Polaski
said that their professor said the
full slur. “[The professor’s use of
the slur] made me and several
other students in the class very
uncomfortable,” Polaski added.
Bliss Wells, '23, who is in
the same class as Polaski, pointed
out that the student in front of
them “jumped back in their seat.”
Wells added that she “looked
around to see if anyone else no
ticed...it felt like a few people did,
but nothing was addressed.”
Polaski noted that not even
10 minutes later, the professor
“told [them] that one of her fun
damental classroom rules when
she'd been a [high school] teacher
was that there would be no use of
slurs.” Polaski explained this made
the whole situation increasingly
confusing and that “it made [her]
wonder if [the professor] didn't
consider the f-slur a real slur or if
she genuinely hadn't noticed what
she'd said.”
Polaski said, “As an openly
queer student, it was an incredibly
unsettling moment, with how casual
the use of the slur was.” They also
explained that it “felt like a com
plete ignorance of [their] experi
ences as a queer student and the
experiences of all historically queer
people who have had that slur used
against them.”
“Given who the profes
sor was, I felt disappointed and
shocked,” Wells said. “This profes
sor preaches about safe and equi
table classroom environments, so
it was quite jarring [when] she said
the slur with no hesitation.”
Wells also pointed out that
“any safety that may have been
established previously turned into
a feeling of unease, not only for
myself but [for] the students who
may be hurt by the slur or didn’t
feel comfortable calling it out.” Both
Polaski and Wells agreed that after
the slur was said, it was difficult to
focus on learning for the rest of the
class period.
When elaborating on the
professor’s efforts to make the class
an inclusive space before the inci
dent, Polaski noted that “she's made
a lot of efforts at creating an inclu
sive classroom, or at least said a lot
of things like that...after this experi
ence, that all just comes off as really
performative and insincere.” Wells
said the fact that the professor had
previously set up a system called
“ouch moments,” and the agree
ment was to call out community
members when hurt by an experi
ence.
“At the moment, I didn’t feel
comfortable enough to call it out
because [the slur] just came out and
the professor and my peers moved
on,” Wells said. She also added that
it felt like she was the only one who
noticed what had happened, which
made it “ harder to speak up.”
In a similar scenario, Molly
Perry, ‘22, witnessed a student
saying a slur in the classroom. “My
freshman year, the class was
discussing one of our as
signed readings when the slur
was said by a student,” Perry
explained.
She said that the class
was having a student-led
discussion when “the student
was making a comment on
the reading and said something
like, ‘When this character called
this other character the n-word...,’
but instead of saying ‘the n-word,’
the student actually said the racial
slur.”
Perry noted that im
mediately after the slur she felt
“extremely uncomfortable” and
that she was unsure of how “situ
ations like that were supposed to
be addressed in college” or “how
lenient colleges were with harm
ful language being used in the
classroom if the language was in
reference to an academic work.”
“The general vibe that
I felt in the classroom after the
slur...was that everyone was
uncomfortable and didn't know
what to do,” Perry said. “At the
very least...the student should
have been reprimanded by the
professor.” She noted that she
doesn't quite remember how the
situation played out because of
how long ago it was and because
the professor made no mention of
it.
When asked about the
reporting process for incidents
where either a professor or stu
dent says a slur in the classroom.
Dr. Jean Jackson, Vice President
for College Programs, said that
her first advice would be to “talk
with the speaker to let them know
how you felt when you heard the
slur and ask them never to use
the word or words again.”
According to Dr. Jackson,
if a student is uncomfortable
speaking with the professor, there
Photo by Ally Cefalu
are several other options, includ
ing speaking with the professor’s
department head.
“If you are uncomfort
able talking with the department
head, or if the person in question
is the department head, then you
should consult the academic dean
for that department, and, finally, if
needed, the Provost,” Dr. Jackson
said. “At any point that you feel
satisfied with the response, you
can stop—you need not proceed
through all the academic resourc
es, unless you want or need to do
so.”
For students, using a slur
in the classroom could result in
a meeting with the Honor Coun
cil, but Dr. Jackson noted that
“the steps the College would take
would depend on the situation.”
For a faculty member, academic
resources would “determine a
course of action,” and Human
Resources may become involved.
When asked about their
opinion on possible repercussions,
Polaski and Wells both mentioned
that if anything, an apology is
deserved.
“I really just want an apol
ogy from the professor and an
acknowledgment that she un
derstands that what she did was
wrong,” Polaski said. Wells added
that an apology is also important
so that her “fellow classmates and
future educators see that when
teachers make mistakes or say
hurtful things, they should apolo
gize.”
What to Know About Meredith’s Counseling Center and Disability Services
By Elinor Shelp-Peck, Co-Editor in Chief, and Cady Stanley, Copy Editor
Trigger warning: Discussion of
mental health and resources
In light of the COVID-19
and mental health pandemics, col
leges have had to prioritize student
mental health in ways they haven’t
previously. However, with only
six staff members listed on their
website, it is unclear if Meredith
College’s Counseling Center and
Disability Services (CC&DS) can
meet the demand for mental health
services. Meredith’s undergradu
ate and graduate student popula
tion totals to approximately 2,100,
meaning each counselor is theoreti
cally responsible for 350 students.
In a previously published Meredith
Herald article. Assistant Director
for Disability Services Carolyn Kon-
ing stated that there are “too many
projects and not enough money.”
To investigate further, The Herald
spoke with Alston Tyndall, ‘22, who
has utilized CC&DS, about their ex
periences and with representatives
from CC&DS to discuss their fund
ing and resources.
Tyndall said their “experi
ence with the Meredith Counseling
Center and Disability Services have
been positive overall.” However,
they said that it can be unclear
how to contact CC&DS. Tyndall
said she has been asked by many
students how to connect with
CC&DS, hut that originally she
“was unsure of how to contact
[CC&DS].”
“I don't think this infor
mation is explicitly shared with
students,” Tyndall said. “If it
were, I definitely feel that more
students would take advantage of
these services on campus.”
When asked about bud
geting for CC&DS, Director of
the Counseling Center Beth Meier
stated, “CC&DS share the same
general supply account, pa}Toll
accounts and student worker
account. Outside of our payroll
accounts, the largest account in the
department is the Interpreter and
Disability Assistance Account.”
The Interpreter and Disability As
sistance Account is “dedicated to
student-related disability expen
ditures” and is separate from the
CC&DS account.
See CC&DS
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