On Tuesday, September 11th, I attended the “Breaking Stereotypes” Global Engagement Night event at Enarson Hall as a Non-International Affairs/Community function. The group which hosts these Global Engagement Night events pairs international students up with “global ambassadors”. Global Ambassadors are volunteers from OSU who show these international students around campus and help them become comfortable in an environment which is totally foreign to them. These events that they hold are meant to help international students learn more about American as well as campus culture. Meanwhile, global ambassadors and the other non-international students who attend these meetings get to learn more about other cultures as they talk to their peers from around the world.
This event impacted me by opening my eyes to how other countries deal with and view controversial topics, such as race, gender, sexuality, religion, and identity issues. After a few ice breakers and social activities at the beginning of the meeting, the global ambassadors presented an informational power point defining what a stereotype is, describing the different types of stereotypes, and explaining the negative effects of all stereotypes. During this presentation, many of the international students appeared confused- as if they were hearing this information for the first time. Judging by the questions that they asked, I believe that many of them were unfamiliar with this type of societal labeling. It’s not to say these types of issues do not exist in their home countries, but rather that no dialogue exists about these types of issues in their countries. Most of the times I so focused on this country’s flaws and shortcomings in areas of diversity and acceptance that I take for granted how progressive the United States is compared to many other countries. It’s alarming that these topics are not being discussed in other countries mostly because if there is no conversation being had, then there are no solutions being formulating.
To my surprise, I learned quite a bit, myself, from the informational presentation about stereotyping. I learned that there’s a subclass of “good” stereotypes, which associate positive attributes to certain groups. For example, “Asians” being smart, or African Americans being athletic. However, despite the positive generalizations that these stereotypes make, no stereotype has positive effects on a group of people. Any type of generalization leads to the “boxing-in” of individuals which can cause dissatisfaction or a sense of failure among members of these groups. In general, this type of labeling can based on appearance or background can also lead to more discrimination.
Although this event specifically taught international students about domestic issues in the United States, this informational session taught me about the priorities of different countries. Here, in America, we have groups and campaigns, such as the “Me too” movement and Black Lives Matter, which point out all forms of discrimination. These groups ensure that the plight of other’s does not go unnoticed and that culpable parties are held accountable. Unfortunately, many countries do not have groups like these, and therefore these problems go without notice and without solution. Despite the division that these controversial conversations often incite, these efforts demonstrate America’s underlying drive for equality- a drive which many countries cannot afford to possess.