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[Wesleyan University]

Issue 13 · Winter 2008
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Difficult Dialogues The Myth of Self-Segregation

by Daniel Hiroyuki Teraguchi
Dean for Diversity and Academic Advancement

Hey, why are those students sitting together? How am I supposed to engage in diversity as an educational asset if “they” are all over there and I am over here? Why are “they” self-segregating? These questions inspired Beverly Daniel Tatum’s (’70 P’04) book, Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? and continues to be a catalyst for conversations. But what are the conditions that are necessary to push these conversations to a complex and difficult level? What is the connection between self-segregation and difficult dialogues? Does an AOC network facilitate self-segregation: a myth or reality?

Social success networks as self-segregation are a myth. These networks are integral to the success of students who engage daily in difficult dialogues because they are just that: difficult, draining, and robust. However, they also can be inspiring, transformative, and rejuvenating. Regardless of individual outcomes, people need to count on their social success networks as a place to reflect, develop, and maintain energy levels in order to continue seeking and actively participating in difficult dialogues that they encounter unexpectedly or through planned activities. These social success networks are especially necessary for those who walk away from dialogues drained, frustrated, and conflicted, whether spiritually, emotionally, or intellectually. Without self-determined educational spaces, cultivating the pluralistic leadership necessary to foster community among individuals with diverse ways of learning, contributing, and knowing can be inhibited.

Another myth associated to social success networks is visibility. Self-segregation is generally attached to those that are visible, yet we all have them. Our social success networks come in many forms, but they generally are built on trust and a place where you don’t have to be “on” all the time. They also tend to be formed based on many commonalties such as lived experiences, philosophical and intellectual foundations, or familial ties. In order to have difficult dialogues, members of social success networks with different commonalities need places of positive interaction, such that relationships not typically fostered can be built. Stepping into that place of interaction often requires knowing that one can return to their social success networks. However, visibility of social success networks can inhibit their formation, which in turn influences individuals without particular types of networks to participate in difficult dialogues.

To foster social success networks while also providing opportunities for individuals to interact across different communities, WesConnects is being resurrected through the Dwight Greene ’70 Internship. WesConnects is a mentoring program designed to cultivate success networks that recognizes and affirms the complex identities and multiple meanings associated with the concept of “Student of Color.” A key aspect in forming these networks and opportunities is understanding pivotal moments that positively influenced academic success along different trajectories of success. Sharing these moments of success help new students, in particular, find social success networks that are appealing to them and encourage engagement in difficult dialogues in and outside the classroom.

If you would like to share your pivotal moments, please visit the “initiatives/programs” link on the Office for Diversity and Academic Advancement Web site.