List at least three ways you may be able to increase your cultural awareness and understanding of diversity on your campus.
A mulicultural club could help increase cultural awareness, as well as including many different arts and history in the classes that students are enrolled in. Possibly having the dining hall make different foods that suit different cultures.
Is it a cultural observation or a stereotype to say, for example, that Mexicans are more relaxed about time commitments than Americans? (Think a minute before answering. How would you justify and explain your answer if challenged? Could both answers be right in some way?)
This is a stereotype. This could be argued but it would depend on who is arguing it. If you come from a Mexican family and get to America and make that statement yourself, then it could be a cultural observation. If someone who has met 3 Mexicans and all of them happen to be more relaxed about time that wouldn't be accurate.
For each of the following statements about diversity, circle T for true or F for false:
1) T 2)F 3)T 4)T 5)T
List several characteristics of your own cultural background that may be different from the cultural background of some others on your campus.
My grandfather is very Irish and in my family we have a tradition of doing Sunday dinners, and after we all gather for a story telling.
Write a description of someone who is of a different race from yourself but who may not be different ethnically.
I have an African American friend, who happens to be my best friend and her name is Abbe. Abbe and I have a very similar look on things, and we both love to laugh and making eachother laugh.
List as many types of diversity as you can think of.
Diversity of race, Diversity in culture, Diversity in religion, and Diversity in personal values are all typed of diversity.
If they had told you, would that have made any difference? Explain.
Yes, this would make a difference for me because I would be able to come up with some things to talk about prior to the date. I would also know what to expect when I meet this person, this would make me more comfortable.
Should your friends have told you in advance? Why or why not?
I believe that the friend should have told me in advance who I am going on the date with because I would feel more comfortable and at ease when the date comes. I would not like to go on a double date with someone I don't know anything about so I would prefer to know my date somewhat.
Do you anticipate any more difficulty making conversation with your date than with anyone else whom you have just met?
No, because there are more things that people could have in common besides race that can be discussed.
A couple you know invites you to join them and one of their friends, whom you have not met, on a “double date”—a movie and dinner after. When you meet them outside the theater, you see that their friend, your date, is of a race different from your own. Are you surprised or shocked? What is your first reaction?
I would not be shocked. Regardless of the race of the person, I would be shocked to see who the couple had chosen for me. I wouldn't know what to expect regardless because it is technically a blind date.
As you hesitate, you overhear them conversing in a language other than English. Be honest with yourself: how does that make you feel now?
I would feel slightly intimidated in this situation. It would depend whether or not someone is translating the conversation to someone else or if they are talking in their language to leave me out. If I was being left out it would make me feel defeated and probably not want to talk to them/ him again. If the conversation is being translated to further the conversation, I would want to get my new friends numbers.
Would you have hesitated if this person had the same cultural background as you? What makes this situation different?
No, I would not have hesitated in this situation because even though other friends of his had already sat down with him I would be open to getting to know his friends as well as him. If I was open to getting to knowing him, I would assume that his friends are similar to him and that would be what's keeping me pursuing a friendship with him. If he seems nice, I assume his friends would be the same.
Why do think you might have associated this particular mental picture with the emotion of feeling frightened?
I think the reason behind me feeling frightened about this group of people is because of the first thing that would catch my eye, foul language. I do not surround myself with people who oftenly say bad things, so that would make me uncomfortable. As well as a hooded figure because I could never know what kind of person the mysterious person is under the hood/ mask. They could possibly be up to no good.
Be honest with yourself: what did you just imagine these people looked like?
I imagine these people are communicating with other people with harsh language and responding to it as if it is not vulgar. I can see these people wearing dark colors, as well as hiding their identity with a hood or some sort of face covering.