SW Virginia
I moved to southwest Virginia in January. I really like it so far. I've moved to a small town, and I am renting a house in a really nice area, just down the street from the main park in town, which is perfect for my daugher.
What's surprised me, though, is how different some views are here. They're different from anything I've ever really been around. I think it's largely due to the influence of being in the Bible belt.
To be more specific, I've found that people are much more politically conservative than people that I've generally been around in the past. For some, this is taken to the extreme.
I have told my students that I am going to start an LGBTA club on campus. That is a particular group of students who do not have much support, not just on campus, but in the community in general. I explained that the 'A' on that means that one does not need to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender to be a member of the club. They can be an Ally, one who can support and be friendly to all of those in the club. I told my students to please contact me if they're interested in joining, and if any of their friends are interested, to please pass on my contact info to them. While most of my students did not really respond to this, I was surprised by those who did.
One student stated, "I mean no disrespect here, but this is southwest Virginia. You're not going to get much support for a club like that here." I replied that this might be exactly why we need this club. Those students don't get much support here. In another section, I told the students, and one student seemed to think it was a good idea, but no one really said much about it, except for one student who wanted to share a negative transgender story he had. At the end of that class, a few students stayed behind to talk about various things, as usual ("Can I know my grade for...") and when it was down to two students, one told the other, and older man, to go ahead, but the older man declined and waited until the other student had finished and left. After he made sure it was just the two of us in the classroom, he asked if I'd received much support for the club so far. I said that I hadn't, and he said that he thought it was a great idea and that it was much needed. He then told me that his son is gay and that his son was often bullied. After leaving, though, I was a bit sad that in order to tell me this, he made sure no on else was around. Perhaps telling this while the rest of the class was there would have shown his classmates why this club is necessary.
As a final paper, I had my students write a 1-2 page reflection paper, primarily meant for them to reflect on their writing throughout the semester. One student, the one who had said I wouldn't get much support for the club, used the majority of his paper to tell me to leave it be. He said to "Forget about the homosexuals." He claimed that if I sponsored such a club, my students would lose respect for me, and it's not my job to try to change people or their opinions. I guess he didn't hear when I stated that the club is not meant to change people's views or opinions, but rather, to give support to a portion of the student population that does not currently have that. Ah, well.
On the positive side, I've had great feedback from other faculty members about this. Many have volunteered to be of any help that they can in getting the club off the ground. Also, a student of mine e-mailed me to tell me that she would like to join the club. Hurrah to baby steps.
What's surprised me, though, is how different some views are here. They're different from anything I've ever really been around. I think it's largely due to the influence of being in the Bible belt.
To be more specific, I've found that people are much more politically conservative than people that I've generally been around in the past. For some, this is taken to the extreme.
I have told my students that I am going to start an LGBTA club on campus. That is a particular group of students who do not have much support, not just on campus, but in the community in general. I explained that the 'A' on that means that one does not need to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender to be a member of the club. They can be an Ally, one who can support and be friendly to all of those in the club. I told my students to please contact me if they're interested in joining, and if any of their friends are interested, to please pass on my contact info to them. While most of my students did not really respond to this, I was surprised by those who did.
One student stated, "I mean no disrespect here, but this is southwest Virginia. You're not going to get much support for a club like that here." I replied that this might be exactly why we need this club. Those students don't get much support here. In another section, I told the students, and one student seemed to think it was a good idea, but no one really said much about it, except for one student who wanted to share a negative transgender story he had. At the end of that class, a few students stayed behind to talk about various things, as usual ("Can I know my grade for...") and when it was down to two students, one told the other, and older man, to go ahead, but the older man declined and waited until the other student had finished and left. After he made sure it was just the two of us in the classroom, he asked if I'd received much support for the club so far. I said that I hadn't, and he said that he thought it was a great idea and that it was much needed. He then told me that his son is gay and that his son was often bullied. After leaving, though, I was a bit sad that in order to tell me this, he made sure no on else was around. Perhaps telling this while the rest of the class was there would have shown his classmates why this club is necessary.
As a final paper, I had my students write a 1-2 page reflection paper, primarily meant for them to reflect on their writing throughout the semester. One student, the one who had said I wouldn't get much support for the club, used the majority of his paper to tell me to leave it be. He said to "Forget about the homosexuals." He claimed that if I sponsored such a club, my students would lose respect for me, and it's not my job to try to change people or their opinions. I guess he didn't hear when I stated that the club is not meant to change people's views or opinions, but rather, to give support to a portion of the student population that does not currently have that. Ah, well.
On the positive side, I've had great feedback from other faculty members about this. Many have volunteered to be of any help that they can in getting the club off the ground. Also, a student of mine e-mailed me to tell me that she would like to join the club. Hurrah to baby steps.