Space and Grace: Mitigating Bias as Spartans Return to Campus

MSU Today with Russ White

Christine So (she/her) is ASMSU's Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer and Senior Advisor to APASO, that's the Asian Pacific American Student Organization. Kelly High McCord (she/her) is Director of Human Resources for Residential Hospitality Services. Dr. Ashley Green (she/her) is Assistant Dean of Administration and Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for International Studies and Programs. And Dr. Jim Lucas (he him) is Assistant Dean of Global Education and Curriculum at the Office of Undergraduate Education.

What's the relationship between DEI and the COVID-19 pandemic? In what ways are people differentially affected based on their identities?

“We know that some people are at a higher risk because of their race or ethnicity due to underlying conditions, or more so because of lack of access to regular healthcare and preventions. But there could also be differentials in the impacts of dealing with the trauma or the aftermath,” says Green. “So if you come from an area where numerous loved ones have died from the disease, you now have an added layer of trauma or grief that impacts your mental and physical health due to the actual COVID-19 disease.

“And I have to also mention the differential impacts on our workforce, such as differences in salary adjustments, furloughs, possible inequities in work assignments, power dynamics, and from a personal perspective, women who are juggling heightened full-time work and additional duties at home while managing children being schooled from home. And then more specifically, as it relates to some of the international population, they have had to navigate a number of issues such as border closings disabling them from entering their home countries or leaving to come to the U.S., navigating time zone challenges when trying to participate in courses and meetings virtually, less than ideal internet in various parts of the world, and fears of being unable to obtain a visa for educational or professional traveling thereby resulting in decreased opportunities to travel, which impacts international research and global experiences for our faculty and students. And then lastly, other issues of DEI that are exacerbated in virtual spaces include lack of connection and hands-on physical support. There are some language barriers that are heightened in virtual spaces or while wearing a mask as well.”

“In Residential and Hospitality Services and beyond on campus, many of our frontline team members are people of color and women,” High McCord says. “And so they have been affected in having to make really difficult decisions regarding whether to come to campus. Do I feel safe? Am I going to bring something home to my parents that I care for? Some healthcare institutions may have been closed or compromised in various ways. If you have childcare issues, where can you put your child when you still need to work? There have been a number of challenges.

“We've had staff members who've lost people due to COVID-19, and they’re dealing with the loss. The workforce is very thin right now, and so they're putting in a lot of hours to help us cover and take care of the campus that's still here and operating during the pandemic.”

“In addition to childcare issues, we're hearing about people who have family responsibilities in terms of elder care, and then also students who may be helping to support their families,” Lucas adds. “And so for them, maybe their parents or guardians are out of work and they need to work more. And then of course, we have to look at the jobs sometimes, as Kelly alluded to. If you have a position as a frontline worker or in the hospitality industry, you're being put at the forefront of being exposed to COVID.

“And I just want to also stress something we haven’t talked about enough. We’re seeing internet access issues for our low-income students and our rural students. We've actually had students who've been driving to McDonald's or to Starbucks to sit outside to take tests or to do their homework. And we know that people from certain cultural backgrounds may not feel comfortable accessing medical care or mental health care. And so they may be suffering in silence. And then of course we have to think globally about who has access to what vaccines and who's able to obtain them easily, but also what is the United States' role in supporting COVID vaccination globally?”

We know that vaccine and mask wearing policies have caused some controversial conversation. Can you explain some of the bias or apprehensions around mask wearing and vaccinations?

“To be candid, there were some African American men who were initially hesitant to wear masks in public spaces for fear of being targeted or profiled due to negative stereotypes,” Green says. “As it relates to the vaccine, we also have to acknowledge that there are some in the African American community who are not trusting of the medical professionals or political figures, given the systematic oppression that the community has felt. Some have even cited the Tuskegee Airmen syphilis experiment where black men were intentionally and secretively injected with syphilis as a reason to not trust the vaccine. Ultimately, there are some concerns. They think that there's some ulterior motive or hidden agenda for the government to gain more power and control or for the medical industry to make profit off of them as Guinea pigs.

“I'm supportive of the science, but whether you agree or disagree, it is a reality for some that needs to be acknowledged. Then some people are just simply pro-choice in every way and are against being forced to do anything.

“There's also some concern on the other side where people still want to continue wearing masks, even when and if a mask mandate is lifted and they're just concerned about being teased or looked at like they're odd when they're still wearing their masks. So we are really seeing the concerns on both sides. And again, whether you agree or disagree, I think it's important to acknowledge everyone's feelings when trying to deal with this.”

Christine, what do you think students are most worried about in general coming back to in-person this year?

“A lot of students are still concerned about their own safety in the classroom,” So says. “There have been things going around about how people are creating fake vaccination cards or fake COVID tests. So even though a student may submit a vaccination card, what's to say it's real or not real?

“A lot of students, including myself, really want empathy. I know some professors were more empathetic than others. I feel like some professors were very accommodating and others were not. So I'm kind of interested to see and concerned about how professors will treat students this fall because we all know the transition back to a somewhat normal year will be very challenging for not just students, but the faculty and staff in our institution. So I'm just really hoping for some empathy and mental health. And transitioning of two basically new freshmen classes will be a big learning curve for not just those students, but for the faculty and staff supporting those students with resources and teaching them. And something I want to emphasize too is the pandemic still exists. It’s still going.”

“Faculty, staff, and students with sensory issues are also affected by masks,” adds Lucas. “It may inhibit their ability to read lips and it can be harder to hear sometimes. We’re thinking through how we'll be doing fall welcome events and the scope and the scale of those events. We're basically going to be repeating some of t...