As we have discussed in relation to Harvey and Camp, our contemporary neoliberal state penalizes and criminalizes people of color in order to control and profit off them. Camp goes on to articulate some strategies of resistance and agency by the marginalized, including through music, writing, and organizing protests.
I want to examine how this penalization and the subsequent pushback strategies of resistance play out in a college context. This article (https://bowdoinorient.com/2019/02/01/give-power-to-the-students/) in the Bowdoin Orient made me think about how people of color are penalized at Bowdoin. The goal of my project is to examine if and how people of color at Bowdoin experience penalization by the administration, and their strategies of resistance. I think interviews will be the best way to determine how students of color feel impacted by Bowdoin’s honor code and subsequent violations. I also want to interview students of color who are engaging in resistance to this penalization through visual art, radio, and music; although I expect more forms of resistance will become apparent to me throughout my interviews. I want my project to culminate in some form in which I can display, if appropriate and with permission, the strategies of resistance that I find
Lopez’s Comments:
Aliya, this is a question that I’ve been thinking about too. I have seen a number of students of color, particularly, men struggle with being at Bowdoin. For instance, the College will not release these statistics because they fear a backlash, but the retention numbers for Black and Brown men are particularly high at Bowdoin in relation to our peer schools (peer school comparison being a measure normally used to gauge Bowdoin’s successes and failures). The social code violations in the past are event that have also surprised me. For instance, there was a case for years ago when a Black male student was named the n-word by a white student from Colby. He slugged the guy and the College threatened to expel him a week prior to graduating. The decision was ultimately rescinded after students and faculty organized.
Another area that you might want to explore is how the College deals with mental health concerns among students of color. In my opinion, not a very good job. I had a student a few years ago dealing with heavy depression and for this reason, was doing terribly in some of their classes. The College ultimately expelled them for academic reasons and ignored the student’s health issues.
You’ve got a great project. Before diving into theory, let your findings drive how you frame your story.