On Necessary Discrimination
There are 5,300 colleges and universities in the United States. Each has its own housing policy, hopefully transparently placed on its website. For incoming students at NYU, “geographic diversity is a primary variable in the room assignment process” (New York University). At Villanova, freshman may make roommate requests, and most placements are based on the Housing Questionnaire sent out to new students (Villanova University). The University of Wisconsin-Madison is similar in that there is a housing preference form with no guarantees able to be made; however, the university makes the greatest boast by saying “no matter what building these students end up calling home, their on-campus living experiences are very much the same” (University of Wisconsin System). Perhaps this is due to the third “Item to Note”: The Division will not discriminate in assignment to University Housing on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, disability, national origin, or ancestry.
While this clause seems perfect on paper, what does it really mean for minority students at schools. What does it mean for minority students at small private institutions?
While the non-discriminatory clause seems perfect on paper, what does it really mean for minority students at schools? What does it mean for minority students at small private institutions?
Like many colleges and universities, Groton School adheres to a non-discriminatory policy that “does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, religion, disability, gender identity, or sexual orientation, or any other status protected by applicable law” (Groton School). However, how this relates to housing is not made clear in the handbook, which does not address housing placement on campus.
Groton is 8th through 12th grade, with most incoming students admitted freshman year. Although there is not a preference form like most colleges, the Deans work with Admissions when choosing roommates for the 9th graders. Students can request singles, doubles, or triples, their roommates, and their dorms in 10th through 12th grades. Senior housing placement happens in the spring before the new school year. Seniors have more input in where they are placed. They act as dorm “prefects” in all dorms on campus, helping to run the dorm along with the dorm head and dorm affiliates. Since the senior housing process is so different, it is disregarded for the purposes of this article.
I spoke with the Associate Dean of Students, Libby Petroskey about dorm placement for 10th and 11th graders. According to Ms. Petroskey, the dorm placement process is very subjective. There are 18 dorms on campus — 9 girls, 9 boys. 3 lower school (8th and 9th) and 6 upper school (10th-12th). “To be honest,” says Ms. Petroskey, “it’s probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. It’s a huge puzzle. It takes a lot of time and effort.” It’s impossible to please everyone. In upper school, most girls want to go to the same three dorms. Ms. Petroskey says that after ensuring that there are the physical number of rooms and beds needed, she prioritizes balance amongst 10th and 11th graders in dorms, then friend groups. Diversity is very low on that list.
Unlike college where your experience is less tied to your housing placement, at Groton this is the opposite of the case. The eighth and ninth grade dorms are close enough that dorm placement is more negligible. However, in upper school, your dorm is very much your home base. Every night in each dorm on campus there is “check-in” a time when all dorm members come together to share about their days. For 10th graders, dorm placement is most significant since they must be in the dorm from 8 to 9:45 for mandatory study hall. 10th grade also marks the transition from lower school, a much more regimented campus lifestyle, to upper school with fewer restrictions on free time. 11th and 12th graders have the luxury of being out until 10 pm check in.
I spoke to two 10th graders, Angela Wei and Edwina Polynice about their experience in their predominantly white dorm. The girls are two of four girls of color out of a dorm of 28. They both spoke about feeling like the other in their dorm. Angela said, “At first it was like, I’ll try. I don’t want to go into this with a bad mindset. I’ll try to be part of the dorm, but it’s really hard. I mean because when you look around and you’re like the only person with black hair. Or a different skin color… And half of the dorm is from Massachusetts. There’s nobody I can actually talk to.”
This intersection of issues is a common one at Groton. It’s only natural that friend groups apply to be in the same dorm. Unlike for 9th grade where the Deans place students with senior prefect groups and dorm heads that they think the students will get along well with, in upper school, students indicate their preferences based on senior prefect groups that are previously released. It makes sense that a friend group of mostly white girls from New England would be drawn to a prefect group of white girls from New England.
It makes sense that a friend group of mostly white girls from New England would be drawn to a prefect group of white girls from New England.
Edwina spoke to this phenomenon of being overlooked by her prefects. “At the beginning, the prefects would come into my room and say a quick hello to me. Then they go up to [my roommate] and talk with her for hours.” Angela agreed, “They don’t say hi to me.” The only prefect whom the girls both enthusiastically said they could go to is another one of the 4 girls of color in the dorm, a mixed Indian and White senior, who despite being neither black nor Korean “would understand,” according to Edwina.
While the girls have had to make the most of their year, and they both said things have gotten better, they also did not receive the “heads up” that Ms. Petroskey said she grants students who are unfortunately separated from their friend group. In fact, after Edwina’s adjustment was judged subpar, her advisor stepped in and orchestrated a conversation with Edwina and her white dorm head. According to Edwina, the conversation showed that her dorm head cared about her well-being in the dorm more than her prefects do, but it didn’t really change anything.
This story prompts the question: how well are the 18 dorm heads prepared to deal with issues relating to diversity and inclusion? The answer: not very. All new dorm heads undergo orientation at the start of the school year, but the orientation is mainly logistical. Veteran dorm heads often participate in the orientation, sharing stories and methods in their respective dorms. Nowhere in these conversations is time specifically carved out for diversity and inclusion work, however. The faculty as a whole do have some diversity programming (the last notable presentation being on transgender students, according to Ms. Petroskey), but there is no uniform training that all faculty have to go through every year.
At one point in the interview Ms. Petroskey said, “That’s always the question, isn’t it? Do I keep friend groups together or do I prioritize diversity?” While I can see the validity of this question, the point is that the answer should never be to sprinkle in students of color. The biggest problem in Angela and Edwina’s dorm is not the homogeneity, but rather the social isolation that the few minority students endure. It would be less concern if the dorm were fully all white and New England based. And going back to the public and private universities where housing makes less of a direct impact on your day to day life, students of color have traditionally still gone out of their way to foster inclusive environments — the prevalence of the “Divine Nine,” a collaborative organization of nine historically African American Greek fraternities and sororities, on majority white campuses is a prime example.
“That’s always the question, isn’t it? Do I keep friend groups together or do I prioritize diversity?”
If faculty are not trained in diversity work, and housing placement puts more emphasis on keeping friend groups together than ensuring cultural and racial diversity, then of course there will be mishaps like Angela’s and Edwina’s. And it’s also safe to say that the overlooked feeling that both girls spoke to is entirely implicit. It is clear that the housing problem at Groton is unintentional, but more care should be taken in the future to make sure that oversights like these do not happen in the future. This means having more faculty of color overlooking dorm placement. It means, unfortunately for the Deans, ruffling more students’ feathers. However, more importantly, it means promoting the emotional and social well-being of minority students.
Why is this important? — for all the people who question why prep schools across New England have “black people clubs.” Because white, wealthy, straight, New Englanders do not need support navigating “white culture” at old boys’ schools. Because such “black people clubs” or dorms with a majority students of color are exclusive, purposefully and necessarily so. Administrations need to consider further when “discrimination” can be not only extremely beneficial but also necessary to support students of color.
