Highbrow Magazine - american universities https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/american-universities en How Colleges Address Drug and Alcohol Issues on Campus https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/8642-how-colleges-address-drug-and-alcohol-issues-campus <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Sat, 11/11/2017 - 15:40</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1collegedruguse.jpg?itok=ImNH1T7z"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1collegedruguse.jpg?itok=ImNH1T7z" width="480" height="270" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>Opinion:</strong></p> <p> </p> <p> <em>“While looking at colleges for my children, I was concerned about the environment on campus and within student housing, especially after reading various articles online. As with any parent, there is a lot of anxiety when the child leaves home for the first time. </em></p> <p> </p> <p><em>The college websites indicate that they are all committed to providing a safe campus environment but also explain that this is a time when many students will “find themselves.” The colleges further explain that students will be given some leeway but if they cross a line, the parents will be notified. </em></p> <p> </p> <p><em>In talking with other parents whose children had already experienced some issues on campus, the line that colleges talk about the student crossing seems to be all over the place. A friend’s son, for example, was taken by ambulance to a local hospital after the paramedics were called by the school for possible alcohol poisoning. His parents were never called. Another student was transported to the hospital for a possible overdose. The parents of that student received a letter a week after the incident occurred. Similar stories were told to me by other parents.</em></p> <p> </p> <p><em>Most colleges appear to require introductory classes, which include topics such as peer pressure, bullying, drug and alcohol use, dealing with roommate conflicts, etc. Many also require completion of online seminars that must be taken either before the first day of class or during their first semester. These are all good and worthwhile requirements. However, when the colleges were asked specific questions related to safety on campus and in student housing, they often had difficulty providing clear, concise responses. </em></p> <p> </p> <p><em>These included such questions as, how does campus security try to keep drugs out of the dorms and student housing, how easy is it to get drugs on campus, do students generally worry about getting caught with drugs, where can parents go to get answers about their child’s behavior if their child is involved with drugs or alcohol, how easy is it to get a new room if the student’s roommates are involved with drugs, how does the college address synthetic drugs that may not be illegal, is there any parent notification when a student has to get counseling for drugs or alcohol, etc.?</em></p> <p> </p> <p><em>  I thought most of these were relatively simple questions. After contacting a dozen or so schools in South Carolina, I received responses ranging from: no response to any questions; to a response that the particular school just did not have these types of problems; to student drug and alcohol use everywhere in the county was a problem; and that the problems with drugs and alcohol exist at other schools but not that particular school.</em></p> <p> </p> <p><em>Overall, I was disappointed with the lack of openness of school officials, administrators and some, but not all, of the colleges’ law enforcement divisions. I learned that the schools all have fairly detailed and comprehensive drug and alcohol policies, have programs and classes the students must participate in, and have various levels of counseling if a student needed counseling. However, in almost all instances I felt the college either did not have a real understanding of the drug and alcohol issues facing young adults or, more likely, did not think it was the college’s role to address any of these issues. The general feedback was that the students were adults, had to accept responsibility for their actions, and the availability of drugs was no different on campus than other places in the community. </em></p> <p> </p> <p><em>What surprised me was the number of times I was told off the record by campus law enforcement that they were limited by the administration on how involved they could get in addressing drugs and alcohol in campus housing. I got the impression that colleges were primarily concerned about the 60 to 80 percent of students that remained with the school after one year and not concerned about the struggling or at-risk students, who appear to be a much lower priority.</em></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2collegedruguse.jpg" style="height:381px; width:626px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>I sent the above letter to a number of colleges along with a list of 24 questions. The questions were typical of those which I had already asked the administration or law enforcement at the various colleges where my children were considering attending.</p> <p> </p> <p>My goal was to get a sense of what role their institution played in the lives of their students and particularly with respect to those students who may already have a drug and/or alcohol addiction, who already exhibited some at-risk behaviors before attending school, or who were at risk of developing such behaviors now that they were living independently from their parent(s).</p> <p> </p> <p>The questions I asked were primarily the result of much dialogue with school officials, doctors, parents, counselors, law enforcement, and others. I was happy about what I was hearing on the campuses I visited with my children. Our hosts made me feel comfortable that wherever my children ended up, the colleges would help with their transition from living at home to living on their own within the confines of a safe campus environment.</p> <p> </p> <p>However, some of the answers I received bothered me. It was after the experience of looking at schools in South Carolina that I began to look online to see what schools were doing to address concerns any parent would have about their children attending college.</p> <p> </p> <p>What I found was that some schools really do have a concern for what I call the at-risk student. I do not know what the national average is for students who enroll in college and finish within five years but I do know that many of the schools I looked at in South Carolina and elsewhere around the country had graduation rates of 80 percent, 70 percent, 60 percent and sometimes much less.</p> <p> </p> <p> I questioned what is causing such dismal graduations rates and how much do drugs and alcohol have to do with the student’s lack of success? Furthermore, if drugs and alcohol have a significant impact on the ability of some students to complete school, are any schools doing anything to address the issue other than these basic programs that seem to be the standard at every major school?</p> <p> </p> <p>The following is a sample of questions I asked, how the questions were asked, and the reasoning behind my asking the questions. I then listed some of the responses I received from various colleges.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>When filling out housing applications, are there any questions related to drug and alcohol use?  YES     NO       OTHER</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>When applying for a dorm room, the student typically must fill out a questionnaire. The questionnaires I have seen include most of the questions I thought seemed reasonable to finding a suitable roommate. There were questions about what time you typically wake up, what time you typically go to bed during the week and weekends, do you like to study in the dorm room, do you like it very quiet when you study, do you like to play a lot of music, etc.</p> <p> </p> <p>These are all issues you would want to consider if looking for a roommate in a dorm, apartment or anyplace. Then the student was asked approximately how many nights a week would their boyfriend or girlfriend be spending the night in their room. In hindsight, I guess I am a little embarrassed that this question surprised me.</p> <p> </p> <p>But what bothered me more was that when I asked housing officials why there were no questions about alcohol use or drug use, I was told that they were not allowed to ask a student those types of questions.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>University</strong><strong> of Florida</strong><strong>:</strong> No questions about drug or alcohol use.</p> <p><strong>University</strong><strong> of Alaska Anchorage</strong><strong>:</strong> No questions about drug or alcohol use.</p> <p><strong>University</strong><strong> of Maine</strong><strong>:</strong> No questions about drug or alcohol use but includes questions about prior convictions.</p> <p><strong>University</strong><strong> of Iowa</strong><strong>:</strong> No questions about drug or alcohol use.</p> <p><strong>University</strong><strong> of Vermont</strong><strong>:</strong> Questions are asked about both drug and alcohol use.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Does law enforcement walk though housing during peak social times (Friday and Saturday nights)? YES    NO       OTHER</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>When initially asking schools about their policies regarding law enforcement in student housing, it became apparent with each school I asked that law enforcement, campus or otherwise, was not permitted into a student’s room or suite without reasonable cause. I think this is the expectation in today’s society of most everyone I discussed this with but some law enforcement appeared to believe that there might be some benefit of random room checks.</p> <p> </p> <p>I got the sense that some law enforcement officials equated random checks of rooms to be roughly equivalent to asking student-athletes to have random drug screening. The schools I spoke with all had random or regular scheduled walkthroughs of student housing. I did find that law enforcement or maybe housing (not always sure who was calling the shots on most campuses) were sometimes reluctant to have random or regularly scheduled walkthroughs of student housing during what I would call peak “social hours.”</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>University</strong><strong> of Florida</strong><strong>:</strong> Only when needed.</p> <p> <strong>University</strong><strong> of Alaska Anchorage:</strong> Regularly</p> <p><strong>University</strong><strong> of Maine</strong><strong>:</strong> Regularly</p> <p><strong>University</strong><strong> of Iowa</strong><strong>:</strong> Regularly</p> <p><strong>University</strong><strong> of Vermont</strong><strong>:</strong> Only when needed</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <strong><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/3collegedruguse.jpg" style="height:417px; width:625px" /></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>At what point would a parent be called if a student were involved with drugs or alcohol in a campus incident?  Student is sent to hospital or ER ?   YES     NO       OTHER</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>How many violations of school policy would be required before parents are called?</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Many college websites send mixed signals as to when a parent might be notified of an incident involving the student and when the parent would not be notified. I fully understand that these types of decisions are typically made on a case-by-case base. However, I do not understand certain situations. First, if a student has to receive emergency medical attention, the parents should be notified as soon as possible.</p> <p> </p> <p>Some schools indicated that the parent would be notified, unless restricted by the student, if the student requested counseling or other mental healthcare on campus. I can see in this case that it may or may not be in the student’s best interest to have the parents involved initially. This is probably one of those times that the healthcare provider makes that decision. However, if the school is requiring counseling for the student after a student had an incident with say, binge drinking, I believe  the parents should be notified.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>University</strong><strong> of Florida</strong><strong>:</strong> If student is sent to the ER or hospital, parents are called. Parents are called after two violations of the campus drug or alcohol policy.</p> <p><strong>University</strong><strong> of Alaska, Anchorage:</strong> If student is sent to the ER or hospital, parents are called. Parents are called after one violation of the campus drug or alcohol policy.</p> <p><strong>University</strong><strong> of Maine</strong><strong>:</strong> If the student is sent to the ER or hospital, parents are called. Parents are called after one violation of the campus drug policy and after two violations of the campus alcohol policy.</p> <p><strong>University</strong><strong> of Iowa</strong><strong>:</strong> If the student is sent to the ER or hospital, parents are called. Parents are called after one violation of the campus drug policy. Depending on the violation of the campus alcohol policy, the parents might be called.</p> <p><strong>University</strong><strong> of Vermont</strong><strong>:</strong> This is dependent on the situation. Parents are emailed if the student has violated the school’s drug or alcohol policy.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Does the campus have substance-free dorms (I delineated what was meant by substance-free housing)?     YES     NO       OTHER</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Has the school considered substance-free dorms?</strong></p> <p><strong>YES     NO       OTHER</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>When I asked about campus substance-free housing, the response from almost everyone I spoke with was “Of course, we have substance-free housing. All alcohol and drugs are prohibited in student housing.”</p> <p> </p> <p>When I explained what I was really asking with regards to substance-free housing, I got a much different answer. In the past 15 or so years, some colleges began to understand that something had to change with campus housing. In 2010, approximately 20 colleges offered some type of substance-free housing. Now there are over 150 colleges that offer students alternative housing. Students should be allowed to live in housing, if they chose to, which is free from pot odors, or just free from the intoxicated behavior exhibited by fellow students who party.</p> <p> </p> <p>Some students either do not want to live in such an environment or they are in that at-risk group that cannot live in that type environment.</p> <p> </p> <p>The substance-free housing includes several different types of housing depending upon what environment the colleges believe best meets the needs of their students. On some campuses this might be housing where the occupants make a commitment to not do drugs or drink on campus or at any time. Other housing might be where occupants are not allowed in the housing if they are under any influence of drugs or alcohol. Still others have housing where the occupants are actively participating in a recovery program.</p> <p> </p> <p>The point here is not to point out the problems associated with possible violations or how violations are dealt with, but to emphasize that for many years now some institutions are trying to provide the best environment possible for all their student population.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>University</strong><strong> of Florida</strong><strong>:</strong> The university has not considered substance-free housing.</p> <p><strong>University</strong><strong> of Alaska Anchorage:</strong> Yes</p> <p><strong>University</strong><strong> of Maine</strong><strong>:</strong> Has had substance-free housing in the past but demand has diminished for several reasons and is not available this year. The university is considering housing on a smaller scale for the 2017-2018 school year.</p> <p><strong>University</strong><strong> of Iowa</strong><strong>:</strong> The university is presently considering recovery housing.</p> <p><strong>University</strong><strong> of Vermont</strong><strong>:</strong> Yes</p> <p> </p> <p>After sending out the request for information from the 50 schools, I received five questionnaires back. Several schools responded with letters explaining why they did not want to answer my questions. I sent out a second request to the schools that had not responded but did not receive any response. A sample of the schools that sent letters back to me explaining why they would not answer my questions are as follows:</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>South Dakota State University:</strong> Referred me to their website and stated that if the information was not on their website, the information “is not a record or document maintained or filed by South Dakota State University.” </p> <p> </p> <p><strong>University</strong><strong> of Wisconsin- Madison</strong><strong>: </strong>Referenced the schools participation in “several nationally benchmarked surveys” and declined to answer my questions. Their letter closed by saying if I had additional questions, I should contact the school.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>University</strong><strong> of Arkansas</strong><strong>:</strong> Stated “we are declining to participate in your study at this time as we are in the process of conducting our own drug and alcohol policy review.” </p> <p> </p> <p><strong>University</strong><strong> of California, Los Angeles: </strong>Referred me to the “federally-mandated Drug-Free Schools biennial review (currently under development in draft form). It should be available on the University website….”</p> <p> </p> <p>I know all these schools have great programs in place. The schools that I have spoken with explain they are taking all reasonable measures to keep students safe on campus. Some have told me that other schools have major drug and alcohol problems, but not their particular school.</p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/4collegedruguse.jpg" style="height:417px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>In my opinion, a college’s measure of success is how well it does in preparing its students for life by providing a quality education, giving them the opportunity to enjoy the full college experience, and providing a safe campus environment.</p> <p> </p> <p>As an integral component of this, the school must fully recognize that students enter college from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds and with a diverse set of personal circumstances. These present a huge challenge for the college.</p> <p> </p> <p>If the college’s goal is to graduate a reasonable percentage of the students by providing a reasonable environment for the average student, the at-risk student has little chance of success. However, if the school recognizes that at-risk students cannot succeed in the average environment, then it should also understand that changes have to take place for those students to even have a shot at succeeding.</p> <p> </p> <p>The administration at a school sets the tone for virtually everything that goes on at a college campus. Every year that these issues are not addressed, thousands of at-risk students are pushed aside and are not giving the tools and opportunity to succeed.</p> <p> </p> <p>Colleges should promise a safe environment for all students -- not just students who can handle the drug and alcohol issue. They have to provide an environment that gives all students, even the at-risk student, a chance to succeed.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong><em>This is an opinion piece by Dan Reider, who is a consulting engineer living in Columbia, SC. For more than 30 years he has been involved with design of K-12 facilities as well as colleges and universities. During the course of designing these facilities, he has attended and been a participant in many meetings where the topics have included discussions about student behavior, campus security concerns, and drug and alcohol use.  </em></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>For Highbrow Magazine</strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/drugs-campus" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">drugs on campus</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/college-campus" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">college campus</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/drug-use-campus" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">drug use on campus</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/opioid-crisis-0" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">opioid crisis</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/campus-housing" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">campus housing</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/american-universities" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">american universities</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Dan Reider</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Google Images; Wikipedia Commons</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Sat, 11 Nov 2017 20:40:50 +0000 tara 7811 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/8642-how-colleges-address-drug-and-alcohol-issues-campus#comments The World of Political Correctness, According to Chinese Students https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/5588-world-political-correctness-according-chinese-students <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Sun, 01/31/2016 - 15:35</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1chinesestudents.jpg?itok=q8jBMHT7"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1chinesestudents.jpg?itok=q8jBMHT7" width="480" height="356" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p>Mary Liu doesn’t think Emma Sulkowicz is a victim. Sulcowicz was the Columbia University student whose 2014 senior thesis – carrying a mattress with her wherever she went after an alleged sexual assault by a fellow student – made international headlines.</p> <p> </p> <p> Mary is a 17-year-old Chinese high school student. On this grey Beijing morning, Mary is sitting at one end of a long, rectangular table, dissecting Sulkowicz’s claim that she was raped, and her subsequent performance art mattress campaign.</p> <p> </p> <p> “I think this girl was very selfish. [Columbia] is a top school, and she didn’t even consider its reputation. I think she was carrying the mattress for fame and a future job opportunity,” says Mary. Several heads around the table bob up and down.</p> <p> </p> <p> Though Mary and the 20 or so other students in the classroom attend a large public school in south Beijing, they’re part of an international program. That means that upon graduation, the students will not attend university in China but in North America, the United Kingdom and Australia. There are more than 400 similar international schools in China.</p> <p> </p> <p> Mary and her classmates are in a University Prep class: a course designed to introduce students to some of the trends and ideas they will encounter on campus in September. The topic on this day is rape culture on Western universities, and Mary, who is planning on pursuing a degree in London, is holding court.</p> <p> </p> <p> “[Sulkowicz] knew the boy. If two people are boyfriend and girlfriend, there cannot be rape. Also,” she adds, “if you are his girlfriend why don’t you want sex? What’s the problem?”</p> <p> </p> <p> It’s difficult to reconcile Mary’s thoughts on sexual equality with the cultural liberalism of the 21st century university campus.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>It should be noted, however, that Mary and her peers in this Beijing classroom will, next year, join the nearly 700,000 Chinese students already attending colleges and universities overseas, and many of those young people bring a decidedly different perspective toward ‘political correctness’ than is common on campuses today in the UK and North America.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>----------</p> <p> </p> <p> The number of students studying outside their home countries has doubled over the past fifteen years, and China is the world’s leading source of international post-secondary students.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>According to a report by the New York-based Institute of International Education, there were more than 300,000 Chinese nationals attending American universities in the 2014-2015 academic year. In the UK, about 18% of all higher education students come from other countries, and approximately one-fifth of them are from China.</p> <p> </p> <p> The rise in enrollment of international students is taking place against the backdrop of the spirited fight on university campuses over political correctness.</p> <p> </p> <p> Hundreds of thousands of Chinese students are witness to the culture war between liberal student activists battling against what they see as a racist, patriarchal and sexist culture, and their critics, convinced that universities are becoming less hotbeds of vigorous debate, but places where hypersensitive students are coddled, and unpopular views are effectively squelched.</p> <p> </p> <p> As is the case with any group of students, the views of Chinese nationals toward cultural appropriation, trigger warnings and other hot-button campus issues reflect the full spectrum of opinion; indeed, it would be outlandish to suggest that all Chinese students share sentiments similar to those of Mary, the teenager from Beijing.</p> <p> </p> <p> But it is undeniable that there are many Chinese students who are befuddled by several of the social justice campaigns embraced by some of their North American and British peers.</p> <p> </p> <p> ----------</p> <p> </p> <p> Canace Zhang is a 21-year-old sociology major at the University of Windsor, on the northern bank of the Detroit River. She was introduced to student activism three years ago when she began her studies in Canada.</p> <p> </p> <p> Zhang appreciates and supports the robustness of her fellow students’ advocacy for women’s and LGBT rights, and she is mindful of the importance of supporting students on campus who might be suffering from mental health issues.</p> <p> </p> <p> She does question, however, the value of things like trigger warnings – notifications given to readers that content might include material that can ‘trigger’ a post-traumatic stress reaction – and expresses frustration at her university’s increased attempts to cater to students she describes as “childish and naïve”.</p> <p> </p> <p> “Some students request that professors not use words like ‘rape’…in law class, thinking it can cause student distress. The [students’] motivation is either they have been distressed by it or they think it will distress other students. Then why are you taking this major? If you major in law, you need to talk about violence. If you are in social work, you need to talk about discrimination.”</p> <p> </p> <p> Not using industry terms “also violates the rights of other students to have the opportunity to gain knowledge,” she adds.</p> <p> </p> <p> She isn’t alone among her compatriots in thinking that North American students have a tendency to, at times, become too agitated too quickly.</p> <p> </p> <p> Cici Cai is in her first year at Carleton University, in Ottawa.</p> <p> </p> <p> Like Zhang, the 20-year-old Beijinger says that highly offensive or discriminatory actions on campus should be challenged, and she feels fortunate that she’s in an environment in which those actions can be challenged. But she also contends that some students, occasionally, attach greater meaning to a situation or action than is merited.</p> <p> </p> <p> She recounts a story in which she felt she was ignored by one of her professors.</p> <p> </p> <p> “My teacher who, ironically, is African-American wouldn’t call on me in class no matter how high I raised my hand or waved my hand. I felt excluded. He also didn’t call on the other Asian girls in that class. I don’t know why.”</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>Cai approached him after class and told him she didn’t think he was “taking her very seriously as a student”. She says her professor soon began including her more in classroom discussions.</p> <p> </p> <p> “Even though it offended me a little, I think that no matter what your skin color is or what your gender is, you’re always going to be discriminated against at some point in your life.”</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2chinesestudents.jpg" /></p> <p> ----------</p> <p> </p> <p> The overwhelming majority of Chinese students interviewed for this article couldn’t be considered caricatures of insensitivity or tone-deafness. In fact, most of them shared nuanced views with regard to the debate over free speech and offensiveness – views, according to those students, informed in no small part by the political and civil rights landscape in their native country.</p> <p> </p> <p> But still, the consensus among them was clear: Some Western students could use a little toughening up. Or a better sense of humor, at least.</p> <p> </p> <p> Many Chinese overseas students have likely been subjected to microaggressions, but those students are more likely to role their eyes than stage a sit-in, according to Dr. Yin Miao, a lecturer in China Studies at Xi’An Jiaotong Liverpool University in eastern China.</p> <p> </p> <p>“Everyone has one or two good-meaning friends who have forwarded you chain mail about how the Chinese eat kittens and can you please save them, and asked you things that you found both hilarious and inappropriate.”</p> <p> </p> <p> Dr. Miao says her favorite personal example was when an acquaintance asked if China’s one child policy meant that Chinese parents who had given birth to more than a single child while living overseas had to choose only one to bring back with them.</p> <p> </p> <p> “Most students have chalked it up to a part of the ‘oversea experience’. Asians abroad in general are not very vocal in protesting these things,” explains Dr. Miao, who has a B.A.from King’s College, London and advanced degrees from Cambridge University.</p> <p> </p> <p> “Cultural appropriation is also something we tend to laugh at,” she continues. “Every time Chinese students watch a show that involves a Chinese character speaking garbled Mandarin, we cringe. There was this show that once had a character utter something along the lines of: ‘This is spoken in the Wenzhou dialect. Very hard to understand. They call it devil’s language in China.’ We had a good laugh on Weibo [China’s version of Twitter]”.</p> <p> </p> <p> Much of the difference between the way some Chinese students and Western students view political correctness can be attributed to significant differences between Chinese and Western cultures, according to Dr. Rui Yang.</p> <p> </p> <p> Dr. Yang is an international education policy expert at the University of Hong Kong. He says that cultural differences between China and the West can, at times, make the transition from Chinese high schools to foreign universities difficult for some Chinese students.</p> <p> </p> <p> “In the West, there is this history of being equal before god or equal before the law. In China it is just the opposite. Chinese culture encourages differences between individuals and groups of individuals. In Chinese society, it’s okay to respect those who are more educated, or more powerful or who have more money, and it’s okay to express contempt for those who aren’t or don’t.”</p> <p> </p> <p> This, according to Dr. Yang, can lead to Chinese students “get[ting] into trouble while studying abroad because they can be too honest or blunt with their opinions.”</p> <p> </p> <p> “Chinese have little experience living with people of other races or cultures or religions and that can be a problem for Chinese students. Really, the Chinese people can be fairly racist.”</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/3chinesestudents.jpg" /></p> <p> ----------</p> <p>But cultural differences may not be the only factor preventing Chinese students from participating in campus protest movements. </p> <p> </p> <p> A student activist in Manchester or Los Angeles can protest outside a dean’s office or participate in a campus courtyard sit-in fairly safe in the assumption that she won’t be badly beaten – or worse – by authorities. In Shanghai or Nanjing, though, that same student might have a different experience.</p> <p> </p> <p> In an interview with Al Jazeera, the founder of a Chinese human rights organization said that Chinese government security forces regularly roam the country on the lookout for activists who openly criticize the state, and police agents are sent into university classrooms to hunt for lecturers espousing Western ideas like democracy or freedom of expression.</p> <p> </p> <p> The authoritarian nature of China’s government makes any type of activism – student or otherwise – a very dangerous game, indeed.</p> <p> </p> <p> For many Chinese students in the West, it isn’t the lack of safe spaces or trigger warnings on campuses but the actions of their own government for which they reserve their indignation.</p> <p> </p> <p> Says one Chinese student in Canada: “China is a very close-minded place for people to make any public comments. The Chinese government won't even let citizens visit popular websites because they are too afraid that we would ‘find out’ about ideas it thinks is dangerous. They treat us like fools.”</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p><strong><em>Matt Moir is a freelance writer who has worked as a journalist in Canada for the CBC and CTV News. He lives in Beijing.</em></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>For Highbrow Magazine</strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/chinese-students" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">chinese students</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/political-correctness" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">political correctness</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/politically-correct" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">politically correct</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/china" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">China</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/american-universities" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">american universities</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/liberals" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">liberals</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/chinese-government" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">chinese government</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/censorship" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">censorship</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Matt Moir</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Google Images</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Sun, 31 Jan 2016 20:35:12 +0000 tara 6633 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/5588-world-political-correctness-according-chinese-students#comments