Daley Scott |
In our October 19 class we discussed dimensions of identity and the concept of privilege. Which of your identities are you most aware of on a daily basis? Which of your identities provide you with privilege? Which of your identities deny you of privilege? What role do you think privilege plays in your daily interactions with others?
I thought the October 19th class was very interesting because I have always gone to school with people who are almost exactly like me. My grade school was mostly white and middle to upper class people, and my high school was exactly the same way. However, I do not identify myself as one identity all the time; I’m much more than white, girl, etc. I never identify myself as just one of those identities because when people do that, it is very polarizing and causes conflicts to be escalated more than they should be. People are much more than just one identity (race, gender, etc.), and just because people have one identity in common does mean that they have the exact same life. For example, just because I am a girl does not mean that I feel the oppression and discrimination that girls in the Middle East feel. On a smaller scale, my roommate and I are both white females that come from middle-class families, and we live completely different lives because we are different people. Just because we both identify with those three identities, does not mean that we have the same needs and services. I do not feel like any of my identities have denied me privilege. I know that maybe being a white, middle-class female should give me some privileges and some hardships, but I do not feel that any of these things are unfair. I do not think that I have ever been denied something because I am a female and the person I was competing against was a male. This is the 21st century, and people are much more worried about people’s qualifications for certain jobs than whether they are white, black, male, female, etc. There is more and more diversity in jobs that are predominately one identity, and over time this will continue to grow and change. When I talk to others, I see some of their superficial identities, but I have to get to know them better to judge them as a whole person. I do not think that I have ever experienced a situation where privilege plays a role in my daily interactions with others. I will be more aware of it now, and I will look for situations where privilege plays a role.
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Tell me about a community in which you are a member, excluding your family, and describe the obligations of being in that a community and how those obligations are explained to and reinforced in new community members.
I am in Greek Life at the University of Cincinnati as a member of Kappa Alpha Theta, commonly known as Theta. Every year, during the fall, we go through formal recruitment to gain new members into our sorority. The way Theta recruits is based on our values (intellectual curiosity, leadership potential, commitment to service, and personal excellence), so we look for each of these values in our potential new members. We expect each of our members to exhibit these four qualities while being a member of the sorority. We require everybody in the chapter to maintain at least a 2.8 GPA, so we uphold the value of intellectual curiosity. UC’s chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta had the highest grades in all of Greek Life last semester, and the chapter average made the Dean’s List. Theta upholds the value of leadership potential by being involved in leadership in our chapter as well as on the rest of UC’s campus. Many of our members are involved in ROAR Tour Guides, Student Alumni Council, Student Government, and much more. The commitment to service value is upheld by requiring all members to do at least 5 hours of community service each semester. Lastly, our personal excellence value is upheld by requiring everyone to act appropriately at all times and carry themselves in a good manner. Our new members have a couple of meetings before initiation so they know all the rules and regulations of being a member in Kappa Alpha Theta. Most of the time, it is not hard for new members to uphold our values since we recruit girls based on how they fit our values in the first place. Also, it is not hard to uphold these values because many girls prioritize these values in their everyday lives. School, leadership, service, and personal excellence are all important to me, and my Theta sisters help me to keep these values every day. |
AuthorThis is my working blog that has posts being submitted for the Exploring Leadership Honors Seminar I am taking during the Fall 2015 Semester at the University of Cincinnati. Archives
November 2015
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