We all make well-meaning assumptions about each other that turn out to be wrong, but some are worse than others.
Like assuming you went to a tanning salon if your skin looks orange.
The Daily Emerald, which the University of Oregon investigated for the “bias” of insufficient transgender coverage, is paying its penance with a multi-part series on the rough lives of UO students who aren’t white.
Part four of “Identifying Discrimination,” which features interviews with students of color and faculty “who have devoted their careers to addressing diversity and inclusion,” is about “privilege and support.”
MORE: Giving ‘less coverage’ to transgender issues is newspaper ‘bias’ at UO
Some of their complaints are predictable, like being nonwhite in a very white school and state (and any given class) or classmates assuming you’re an international student, but the solution is also predictable:
President of UO’s Multi-ethnic Student Alliance Vickie Gimm says, “What students need to do on campus is believe everybody’s individual experiences. A lot of times, we dismiss it because we don’t believe it’s true and that contributes to a lot more marginalization.”
Coming straight out of left field, however, is Seela Sankey’s complaint that she’s been unfairly associated with tanning salons:
As an international student from Kenya, she came to UO with a dark tan, but in the winter, she said her skin tone lightens and she tans orange. As she recalled from her freshman year, this can lead to uncomfortable conversations.
Once a student ran up to her in the rain and asked her which tanning salon she went to.
“I didn’t want to be rude and I was like ‘I don’t remember the shop, but give me your number. I’ll text you the name of the shop’ because I didn’t know how to react to it,” Sankey said.
Innocent mistake, right? Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between a natural and artificial tan.
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But that’s just contributing to more marginalization!
Rather than ask if that was her natural skin tone, the student assumed she must go to to a tanning salon. Sankey dealt with the comment with a sense of humor, but she also recommends students think before they assume.
“Let’s say I’m running to class. If you want to talk to me, be like ‘I know you’re in a hurry, but I was really attracted to your skin tone.’ And then I would explain it to you.”
Right, because it’s likely that a person asking where you tan wants to hear your life story, not find a place to tan themselves.
Talk about a marginalizing assumption about pasty whites.
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