Dealing With Diversity

Sexual orientation is only one of the manyissues that arise when students from differentbackgrounds suddenly find themselves a part ofthis community. Harvard prides itself on being acommunity of diversity, with people of manydifferent races, cultures, religions, ethnicities,talents and politics.

But that diversity comes with attendantproblems. College officials point out that fornearly all students, Harvard is unlike anycommunity they have ever lived in, making theiradjustment exciting but often frustrating.

Minorities, who may have stronger family tiesthan other students or may be typecast in certainways, have special difficulties fitting into themainstream. And others, from homogenouscommunities, have their own problems adjusting todiversity.

"It's an issue for everybody," says HernandezGravelle. But she says that for those who arehaving difficulty adjusting to Harvard, being amember of a minority can exacerbate the problem.Some minority students, for example, are the firstin their families to go to college, so they carrya greater burden of responsibility with thembecause they are the ones who made it.

In addition, Asian-American students are oftensecond-generation Americans with close ties totheir families that may make it harder for them toadjust to college life and harder for theirroommates to understand them.

And some Asian students say they often feel itis assumed that they are interested in math andscience, discouraging them to explore otheroptions.

"I am making generalities, but I think somestudents may wonder in the end whether they wantto belong here and ground themselves in the worldof Harvard," says Hernandez-Gravelle.

But she adds that Harvard's policy of havingall freshmen live together eases the transition.Since everyone must make the transition at thesame time, they all feel equally lost.

And she argues for more education to help makestudents conscious of racial issues becauseinsensitive remarks are often inadvertent.

One example that Hernandez-Gravelle cites isthat of a roommate asking, "So why do you keepcalling your mother, Maria, all the time." Shesays that freshmen who do not understand the closefamily bonds of some minority groups do notrealize that their remarks are inappropriate, sothe College needs to educate them.

Hernandez-Gravelle is in the process ofstarting a peer counseling group that will helpstudents come to terms with racial issues. Membersof the new group may make presentations aboutracial tolerence to groups of freshmen, as othercounseling groups--like Peer ContraceptiveCounseling--do now.

Academic Advising

While it may not be clear how proctors shouldhandle personal issues, it is clear that the waythey handle academic questions is not toeverybody's liking. Many students complain thatproctors just do not know, or have too strongopinions about, courses and concentrations atHarvard. As a result, they cannot effectivelysteer students.

When Kim wanted to know more about psychology,her proctor was unable to provide useful advice."To send you just to the Psychology Departmentjust isn't enough," she says.