Minor in Disability Studies, New CAP Courses Highlight UD Curriculum Innovations for 2021-22

A new minor and several new courses are among the University of Dayton’s latest offerings for the 2021-22 academic year to help students meet institutional learning goals and to prepare them to live and work in a diverse, global society.

Many of the new courses have been approved for the Common Academic Program, the University’s undergraduate general education curriculum. CAP is designed to give each student a unique academic experience while ensuring their learning experiences align with UD's seven identified institutional learning goals — scholarship, faith traditions, diversity, community, practical wisdom, critical evaluation of our times and vocation.

A new minor invites students to examine conceptions, definitions and expressions of disability in the United States, and encourages greater advocacy for people living with disabilities.

Jana Bennett, professor and chair of the religious studies department and Associate Professor of Religious Studies Meghan Henning worked with several faculty campuswide to launch the new disability studies minor. At the start of the semester, 25 students were enrolled in the foundational course.

“Disability isn’t just limited to a certain set of characteristics we often think of when we hear that term,” Bennett said.

“When we think of disability, we think of using a wheelchair, being blind, being deaf or having other disabilities that are more visible. We classify people in those groups as disabled, then deem everyone else as ‘normal.’”

Bennett said the class will challenge that perception and consider the needs of those with cognitive impairments or chronic illnesses as well. In addition to the foundational course, students working toward the disability studies minor can take existing courses in political science, anthropology, physical therapy, philosophy and other departments that address physical and mental disabilities.

Other new CAP courses allow students to explore topics they wouldn’t typically experience in their academic majors or minors. For example, in Associate Professor of Finance Maria Vivero’s FIN 200: Finance for the Common Good course, students will explore using finance to implement governmental, foundation and nonprofit projects to advance societal goals. Through case studies, students will examine how financial markets can be used to advance common societal goals, and students will also visit businesses and organizations in Dayton that use sustainable business practices.

Global Languages and Cultures Associate Professor Jia Yang is teaching GLC 346: The Language of Food in East Asia, a new course that draws on East Asian foods to examine how spoken languages influence our perceptions of the world. One example includes examining linguistic differences presented in “cheap” versus “expensive” menus in American restaurants. Yang will also explore the East Asian roots of popular American foods and condiments, like ketchup.

Two CAP-approved courses in the School of Engineering aim to integrate engineering expertise with social justice. A new version of EGR 330: Engineering Design and Appropriate Technology is available for students who aren’t planning to participate in an ETHOS international immersion program, but are involved in the Collaborative Online International Learning program with colleges and universities around the world. In this course, UD students will connect with students in other countries on projects, and UD students will study human-centered design with an ETHOS Center partner. Scott Schneider, recently named to a new role within ETHOS as professor for leadership in community, is teaching the COIL version of EGR 330. 

EGR 331: Sociotechnical Engineering for the Common Good, is a new course for students who are participating in a domestic engineering immersion, including those in the Dayton area. Taught by Kelly Bohrer, ETHOS Center executive director, the course allows students during their immersion to dive deeper into community-driven technical projects and integrate social justice and human rights principles into engineering practice.

“Having EGR 330 offered in both the usual version and the COIL version provides more opportunities for students to be involved with the ETHOS Center, regardless of their ability or desire to do an immersion or a breakout,” Bohrer said.

“It expands how a student can connect with our mission and vision of a more just and sustainable world through humanity-centered design, sociotechnical research and cultural immersions. We are thrilled to continue building on our student programming and intentionally connecting the work we do with the engineering curriculum.”

Shannon Shelton Miller, Associate Director of News and Internal Communications, University of Dayton.

Financial Markets: It is Not What They Are, But What You Do With Them

Financial markets have been used for centuries to connect providers and users of funds to make projects viable. They have been necessary for firms to pool enough resources to fund expensive and risky ventures, such as sending Dutch sailors to Asia to obtain spices for trade in the 17th century, or more recently, sending commercial rockets to the International Space Station. Governments also take part in the markets, particularly the bond market, to finance large scale efforts ranging from wars to irrigation projects. The financial systems’ ability to pool resources to fund projects and share risks is unparalleled and has shaped the world we live in. Yet, despite their importance for human development, financial markets have also played a part in accentuating inequalities through practices such as predatory lending and redlining.

The field of financial economics, which we survey in our Finance curriculum, is mainly concerned with descriptive issues around the U.S. and global financial markets, such as their efficiency and structure, rather than the role they play in societal welfare. While the operational aspects of the markets are very important for a business education, it might underscore the real importance of the markets for all sectors of society. As our students enter the workforce in new and evolving fields created to solve the world's most pressing problems, they are increasingly discovering that these projects also require financing and institutional arrangements not unlike those seen in for-profit businesses.

Given that the academic curriculum at the University of Dayton advocates for the formation of professionals with a strong desire to work towards society's common good, it is necessary for our students and graduates to understand how their professional skills can be used to advance social causes and what is the state of the art on the interrelation between business and society. 

It is in this spirit that CAP 305/FIN 200: Finance for the Common Good came to fruition—to provide constructive options for future professionals looking to work on projects that would advance social causes and needing practical ways to find them within the realm of the current financial markets. The course aims to show students that, in addition to helping corporations raise capital, financial instruments can also be used to implement projects designed by government agencies, foundations and NGOs to advance society’s common good, or in the words of Pope Paul VI, “the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily.”

The course will be taught as a seminar with lectures and discussions based on academic and journalistic readings, as well as a series of conversations with guest speakers who have expertise in the space on local, national, and global levels in areas of fintech for financial inclusion, climate financing, microfinance, and crowdsourcing. Students will examine and reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of financial markets to advance social justice causes through case studies. They  will also visit several businesses and community organizations in the City of Dayton currently using sustainable practices and the power of the markets to reach their objectives. 

While these topics may primarily appeal to finance majors, CAP305/FIN 200 will be offered as a Common Academic Program course providing students across campus with the option to take it, filling their Diversity and Social Justice (DSJ) component. Students from all majors and disciplines, such as international business, human rights, international studies and sustainability studies, as well as those who are engaged in Flyer Consulting development projects, will find it of interest given the discussions on corporate social responsibility, the role of nonprofits and NGOs in financial markets, economic institutions and development, environmental project financing, and consumer and shareholder activism.

By introducing this course, University of Dayton students at large will have an opportunity to learn and see firsthand how financial instruments and systems can either obstruct social justice or help provide opportunities to the poorest and most marginalized members of society. At the end of the day, the difference will depend on the professionals who will one day work in these systems.

Maria Vivero, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Economics and Finance

Maria Vivero joined the University of Dayton in 2013 and currently teaches Finance courses at the School of Business Administration. She has 20 years of experience teaching Finance and Economics courses at the graduate and undergraduate levels in topics ranging from introductory finance and microeconomics to advanced topics in investments and international finance. Dr. Vivero is an active researcher with publications in asset pricing and the economics of information. Her current research agenda includes projects on the pricing of risk in international markets, the effects of income inequality in portfolio selection, and the effects of learning styles on hedge fund manager performance. In addition to her professional affiliation with UD, Maria is part of the Flyer family as the proud parent of a student in the Class of 2022.

Summer 2021 CAP DSJreads

In alignment with the Common Academic Program's responsiveness to the changing times while remaining informed by the seven institutional learning goals, this DSJreads list offers a series of recommended books revolving around the Diversity ILG learning continuum.

We hope you find interest in some of these books and invite you to examine the issues presented critically.

Bias/Perspective 

• Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do >>
  Jennifer Eberhardt 
• The Source of Self-Regard >>
  Toni Morrison 
• Citizen: An American Lyric >>
  Claudia Rankine 
• Superior: The Return of Race Science >>
  Angela Saini
• Algorithms of Oppression : How Search Engines Reinforce Racism >>
  Safiya Umoja Noble
  
• Braiding Sweetgrass Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants >>
  Robin Wall Kimmerer

Intersectionality/Power

• Complaint!
  Sara Ahmed
• Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot >>
  Mikki Kendall
• Sister Outsider >>
  Audre Lorde
• The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together >>
  Heather Mcghee 
• The Purpose Gap: Empowering Communities of Color to Find Meaning and Thrive
  Patrick Reyes 
• Transgender History: the Roots of Today's Revolution >>
  Susan Stryker

Intercultural Competence

• On Being Included: Racism and Diversity in Institutional Life >>
  Sara Ahmed
• Homeland Elegies >>
  Ayad Akhtar
• Salt Houses >>
  Hala Alyan
• America for Americans: A History of Xenophobia in the United States >>
  Erika Lee 
• Reading, Writing and Racism Disrupting Whiteness in Teacher Education and the Classroom >>
  Bree Picower 
• Do Better: Spiritual Activism for Fighting and Healing from White Supremacy 
  Rachel Ricketts

Social Justice/Inequality 

• Unapologetic: A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements >>
  Charlene Carruthers 
• An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States >>
  Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
• The Address Book: What Street Addressees Reveal about Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power >>
  Deirdre Mask 
• Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation through Anger
  Lama Rod Owens
• Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership >>
  Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
• The Nickel Boys >>
  Colson Whitehead

This list was crowdsourced by CAP Diversity and Social Justice faculty, and published in collaboration with University of Dayton Libraries, Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Multi-Ethnic Education and Engagement Center, Center for International Programs, and the Diversity ILG Working Group.

Youssef Farhat, CAP Diversity and Social Justice (DSJ) Coordinator, and Lecturer in the Department of Political Science. 

ETHOS Course Uses Remote International Collaboration to Adapt to Changing Times

Like many other aspects at the University of Dayton School of Engineering, The ETHOS Center’s longstanding international immersion prep-course, EGR 330, has had to adjust to a pandemic world without international travel. Even though students are unable to travel to work with our international partners, our ETHOS students have adapted and continue their work across cultures as they apply new engineering skills through international remote collaboration.

Tom Tappel, an ETHOS graduate assistant, and Scott Schneider, an associate professor from the University Department of Engineering Management, Systems, and Technology, have worked to develop a new curriculum for the class. This new curriculum continues to focus on learning the tools of human-centered design and working on engineering design projects with ETHOS international partners. This year, the curriculum includes a new opportunity for ETHOS students to work with international students through Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL).

COIL was founded in 2004 by the Office of International Programs and the Office of Learning Environments at the State University of New York (SUNY). COIL connects students and professors in different countries for collaborative projects and discussions within a traditional course. This provides students an opportunity to explore concepts and topics from different cultural perspectives. There are currently over 80 universities around the world participating in COIL. For EGR 330, UD is collaborating with Evolve Abroad, an educational provider that collaborates with global specialists who facilitate learning, growth, skills development, engagement and valuable experiences across the globe.

During the COIL section of the class, students will learn about cultural awareness, systems analysis, system modeling and sustainable indicator development. Then, they will apply what they’re learning in teams of students from UD and Evolve Abroad to develop case studies. The case studies will focus on energy, food, housing and other systems centered in different geographies that expand their perspectives as design engineers.

After the COIL section of the course, the UD students will then use the skills they learned during this module on their design projects with international partner engineering projects.  The students from the Evolve Abroad class will work to apply the same skills in understanding systems to identify business opportunities in their communities. Whatever communities our students end up working with in the future, the skills they learn in this course will help them work collaboratively with partners from different cultures and help them better understand the community they’re designing with.

Finding Passion and Hope While Celebrating Diversity

Black History is worth more than just one month and should be celebrated throughout the year because there is no American history without Black history. In this reflection, I highlight the value of immersing yourself in diverse cultures and learning more about the identities that are hidden by eurocentric education systems. I hope that by reading this blog, you are able to find hope not only by acknowledging Black history, but praising it, emphasizing it, and integrating it into every aspect of life and educational curricula. 

Growing up, my parents sent me to Catholic schools where I was always the only Black person in my classes. In grade school, my family was one of (at most) three Black families and, in high school, I could count all of my Black classmates on two hands. I never had a Black teacher (I still haven’t had one), and surely didn’t learn about Black history past the slavery-MLK-President Obama pipeline. It wasn’t until coming to the University of Dayton that I had the opportunity to learn about my culture inside the classroom. The Common Academic Program (CAP) provides many routes that allow students to take courses centered around various ethnic groups and identities, yet there are still so many students who choose not to fully engage in learning about something that is different from what they have grown up with. Therefore, the CAP Diversity and Social Justice (DSJ) component, with its goals to frame learning by highlighting intersectionality, bias, and intercultural competence, is critical, and so are the many campus and intellectual opportunities provided to engage students further with these dimensions. 

Attending the 2019 Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) Conference with Black Action Through Unity (BATU) was one of the most influential parts of my college experience so far and one of my favorite memories. Together with eight students and Tiffany Taylor-Smith, Executive Director for Inclusive Excellence Education and Professional Development, we attended sessions on promoting research, education, and dialogue regarding Black history and culture. During our few days in Charleston, South Carolina, we had the opportunity to engage with Black intellectuals and learn about our history surrounding the Great Migration, leaving me eager to continue learning about the parts of my history that our education systems have attempted to erase. Passionate about the ways in which identities intersect with social systems, I added an Africana Studies minor. 

The first class I took that addressed Black people’s experiences was Racial and Ethnic Relations (SOC 328) with Dr. Leslie Picca which covered CAP requirements for Crossing Boundaries-Integrative. The discussions allowed me to gain a better understanding of my own experiences as well as the experiences of people of color due to systemic and institutional racism such as Indigenous people, Latinx people, and Asian/Pacific Islanders among others. 

In high school, I was so used to reading works from white authors who I struggled to relate to. As a junior in Fall 2020, I enrolled in African American Literature (ENG 335) with Dr. Thomas Morgan. In this DSJ course, we read works from modern writers such as Toni Morrison and Ta-Nehisi Coates—providing us with a space to gain a better understanding of the Black experience, as well as engaging, reading and writing about issues of relevance to me as a Black woman. After 15 years of education, I finally felt like I was able to connect with the authors and the stories they told through their literature. Taking this course helped to validate my experiences and see them manifest in real stories. 

Drawing from this learning, I joined efforts to better understand and analyze Black people’s experiences through a critical lens as a research assistant for the 2021 Global Voices Symposium. My research over the past few months has allowed me to look at the experiences of our Black students, faculty, and community since 2016. THE Black Experience isn’t just one single experience, and that’s one of the many reasons that makes Black people so excellent. We are all different people and come from different places. There is no specific kind of Black person. A main takeaway from our findings is that we are in desperate need of Black voices, Black students, Black professors, Black organizations, Black love, Black stories, Black music, and Black experiences in order to make our community whole. 

Taking CAP Diversity and Social Justice courses and other courses that incorporate the Diversity learning goal allows us as students to examine our own identities and explore the identities of others in ways that are not traditionally represented in our education systems. As a school that prides itself in its community, let us continue to advocate for transformation where ALL of our students feel like they belong, they are loved, they are needed, and their voices matter. 

Happy Black History Month! 

Amira Fitzpatrick ’22, Core and Honors Student with Sociology and Criminal Justice Double-Major and Africana Studies Minor. She is a research assistant for the 2021 Global Voices Symposium on Race, Vice President of Cultural Engagement for the Multicultural Programming Council, and a PEERS Mentor. Amira works as a Facility Operations Supervisor for UD Campus Recreation, and a Resident Assistant in Housing and Residence Life.

Artwork used in this blog is a courtesy of Maaike Bakker for Fine Acts.

University of Dayton honors six undergraduate students for research in Catholic intellectual traditions

Six University of Dayton students will be honored this month as the first recipients of the Fr. Jack McGrath, S.M., Award for Research in Catholic Intellectual Traditions, which recognizes outstanding undergraduate student research in a Common Academic Program course related to Catholic intellectual traditions.

The students’ work ranges from a study of historical writing about the Black church’s role in the reconstruction era to a musical recital that showcased the performer’s spiritual and musical journey during her time at the University.

The awardees receive a $500 stipend and will present their research from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 22, and Thursday, Feb. 25, during two online Catholic intellectual tradition (CIT) celebrations.

The celebrations also feature prominent keynote speakers. On Feb. 22, Andrew L. Prevot, Boston College associate professor of theology, will address Mysticism and Ordinary Life. On Feb. 25, Robert Ellsberg, Orbis Books editor-in-chief, will discuss Writing About Holiness. Both events are on Zoom and open to the public.

“These are celebrations of the raison d'être of the University of Dayton,” said Timothy Gabrielli, Gudorf Chair in Catholic Intellectual Traditions and associate professor of religious studies. “At the heart of a UD education is inquiry driven by the conviction that careful reflection upon the breadth and depth of our lives — those lives we readily remember and those whom we’ve marginalized — is essential for growing in understanding, that profound gift of God.”

Gabrielli sponsors the McGrath Research Award. He is co-sponsoring the CIT celebrations with Sandra Yocum, University Professor of Faith and Culture.

This year’s McGrath Award honors projects conducted from the 2019 fall semester through the 2020 fall semester in the context of the Common Academic Program (CAP), a learning experience shared by all undergraduate students, regardless of their major. Three awardees each were selected in the first-year/sophomore and junior/senior categories from 20 student submissions.

The 2021 awardees:

• Maya Drayton, a sophomore health sciences major from Hazel Crest, Illinois. Her project, completed for the Development of Western Culture in a Global Context, is Reconstruction’s Black Church and its Role in the Healing Process.
• Margaret Feder, senior music education major from St. Louis. Her project, completed for the degree recital course, is Music as a Window to the Soul: The Story Behind My Senior Recital.
• Emily Georgopoulos, senior biology major from Cincinnati. Her project, completed for The Road to Hell: The Apocalypse in Classical and Contemporary Forms, is Natural Selection: The Eschatological Role of Nature in 1 Enoch and Snowpiercer.
• Emma Grace Geckle, senior religious studies and theology major from Cincinnati. Her project, completed for her capstone seminar course, is A Call for Renewal: How the Creation and Promulgation of Nostra Aetate Transformed Catholic-Jewish Relations.
• Emily Rotunda, a first-year religious studies and theology major from Fallbrook, California. Her project, completed for the Roots and Development of Western Culture in a Global Context, is The Argument of a Modern Psychopath: I See God on Sunday.
• Mira Wilson, a first-year religious studies and theology major from Bellbrook, Ohio. Her project, completed for Faith Traditions: Topics in Religious Studies, is The Effects of Clerical Sexual Abuse on the God Question.

Gabrielli said Drayton and Feder’s projects presented unique perspectives on what it means to do research in conjunction with Catholic intellectual traditions.

“They were all good, but of course the awardees were particularly impressive,” he said. “The committee had a fun time reading these pieces because we were all just so enamored of our students’ great work, which we don’t always get to see when it happens in a particular class. The quality of the work was just astounding.”

Feder, a cellist, said her project was the culmination of 12 years of musical training and a lifetime of faith practice. For her senior recital, she selected pieces that mirrored her personal journey and paired each with a Beatitude to remind listeners to witness Christ in all aspects of their lives.“If I've learned anything from the last four years, it's that there is no right path, but rather a series of directions our lives can take through which God will work,” Feder said. “The Marianists have taught me that we are all missionaries called to witness Christ's beautiful and all-encompassing love for his people with the gifts we are given.”

Drayton looked at how the Black church helped the Black community with healing during reconstruction and worked to build that community into what it is today. She also looked at how historians’ views of Black people have changed over time.

“Personally, this recognition shows me that what I care about and the work I put into my research matters and that is something I will always be grateful for,” Drayton said. “Academically I think this award is the push I needed to see that not only do I belong at UD, but I can truly thrive here. This is also something that I will never forget and I thank the McGrath Award committee for giving me that.”

The McGrath Award is named in honor of alumnus Fr. Jack McGrath (1935–2015), a dedicated teacher who celebrated and embodied Marianist education in the Catholic intellectual tradition.

The award committee included Corinne Daprano, associate professor of health and sport sciences; David Fine, associate professor of English; Julio Quintero, associate director for inclusive excellence education and initiatives; Bill Trollinger, professor of history and Core program director; and Pam Young, director of accreditation and assessment, School of Education and Health Sciences.

To attend the Feb. 22 CIT celebration, use the Zoom link https://rb.gy/nyruyp and the password 237132. To attend the Feb. 25 celebration, use the Zoom link https://rb.gy/rhiztp and the password 701719.

For more information about the McGrath Award, visit the website.

A House is Not Built in One Day

When I first arrived as a first year student at the University of Dayton, there were a lot of things I did not know about the world or myself. Being the somewhat nerdy student in middle and high school who would become excited at the opportunity to take a map quiz and was enamored with all things history and politics, I knew more or less where my passions lay. However, it was not until much later in my college career that I began to envision how I was going to turn that passion into a purpose. 

In the Fall of 2020, Flyer Consulting was able to take on their second-ever international client - Fundacion Raiz - through the efforts of Dr. Maria Vivero, professor in the Department of Economics & Finance and a board member of the Raiz Foundation their partner nonprofit. I served as a semester-long consultant on the team’s engagement with this Ecuador-based nonprofit organization serving a variety of community needs.  Our efforts focused primarily on their CAEMBA program, which provides secure housing for vulnerable populations. It was started by Manuel Pallares and Cristina Latorre following earthquakes in the country which left more than 40,000 people homeless. Since then, volunteers with Fundacion Raiz have built hundreds of homes and shelters, schools, and even a community center and a church. 

 As a consultant, my job was to conduct research with the Flyer Consulting team, work closely with Cristina and Manuel to provide recommendations with the ultimate aim of supporting their nonprofit to expand their donor base into the U.S. What I loved most about the process was the creative and solutions-driven nature of our work. And I felt the opportunity to learn more about the world of marketing, accounting, and business development, and the opportunity to work with nonprofits serving areas of great need in their local communities was invaluable. 

Counting for the International Experience component of my International Studies major, this opportunity added a hands-on component to my in-class experience, and reflects the transdisciplinary nature of a University of Dayton education allowing me to gain the most from my experience last semester and carrying it with me well after I exit the doors of the UD arena on graduation day. 

The Common Academic Program (CAP) provides such flexibility to carve unique learning opportunities and a choice of courses which touch on my interests and experience in a more explicit way. Among those is the First Year Humanities Commons which instilled the critical thinking skills beneficial to a consultant, and my first year Communication 100 course which, although it was uncomfortable at the time, strengthened my public speaking and interpersonal communication skills. Another CAP course that has benefited me is the Economic Development & Growth (ECO 460) taught by Professor Barbara John in which I came to better understand the landscape of economic development and its intertwined relationship with health, education, and quality of life outcomes through analyzing and interpreting data. 

When students first arrive at UD, many words are thrown at them but the ones that seem to resonate, coming up again and again are: community, service, and the common good.  As my time as a student progresses, I have witnessed how accurate those terms are on our campus and the real opportunity to meaningfully contribute to this mission, especially through projects like mine with Flyer Consulting. Over the course of the semester,  I better understood the University of Dayton’s mission to promote the common good and be a constructive part of our global community. 

Nothing I did could ever match up to the service and impact Manuel, Cristina, the rest of the Fundacion Raiz team and volunteers have had on their local community in Ecuador, but it brings me joy to consider that in some small way I was able to have a positive impact on theirs and through the work of our team, they are better able to promote and achieve their mission. If I had to impart any advice on other students at UD, it would be to get involved, even - or perhaps especially - if it is something outside your comfort zone. This experience was not anything I would have envisioned during my first year, and such opportunities to get involved in meaningful, hands-on experiential learning are immense whether you are an engineer or business student, into computers or poetry, musically-inclined or a sports fan. By getting involved in some small way in all that UD has to offer, I have been able to, piece by piece, discover who I am and what my purpose is.  There are still a lot of things I am trying to figure out about myself and my calling, but that is okay. After all, a house is not built in one day.

Samuel Attea ’22 is a junior student pursuing a B.A. in Economics & International Studies with a concentration in Global Migration & Economic Development and has been a member of Flyer Consulting since Fall 2019. After graduation, Samuel is interested in pursuing work with the US Government or a NGO focused on issues related to international development, migration, or education or a career in journalism or law. 

Podcast: Sexual Identity, Inclusion, and Community on Campus

🎙🎧Listen to Podcast  

A month filled with barbeques and baseball games, June is also an important month for the LGBTQ+ community. Queer people and their allies celebrate Pride Month with festivals, parades, and artistic reflections on the progress made toward political inclusion since the Stonewall Riots in 1969. We’ve come a long way since then. In 2015, the US Supreme Court legalized marriage equality with the Obergefell v. Hodges decision -- a case that originated in Cincinnati! 

At the University of Dayton, community is a key institutional value. Although we do not collect demographic information on the undergraduate population’s sexual identities, the American College Health Association estimates that 10% of college students identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, asexual, pansexual, or questioning. Moreover, the numbers may be higher because the development of sexual identity is in flux over the course of a young person’s life. Yet regardless of whether students are out and proud, closeted, or questioning, they are still likely to be affected by microaggressions and bias incidents that occur on campus.

In Spring 2020, we enrolled in Dr. Jamie L. Small’s sociology class on Sex, Crime, and Law. Our discussions ranged from domestic violence to mass incarceration to pregnancy discrimination in the workplace. For our final project, we were tasked to develop a podcast that investigated broader course themes. We brainstormed ideas at the beginning of the semester, and then Dr. Small placed in groups based on shared interests. The unexpected campus closure in March created new barriers to making a podcast -- a project that neither of us had done before! After consulting with Dr. Small, though, we decided to continue with the podcast because documenting the micro- and macro-aggressions that LGBTQ+ students experience on campus is really important work. 

We learned a lot and would like to share the podcast and some of those findings with you.

Spectrum is UD’s LGBTQ+ student organization. The group is comprised of dedicated students who strive to help make other LGBTQ+ students on campus know they are safe to be themselves, while being transparent about the challenges. Spectrum provides aid, support, and a safe space for LGBTQ+ students and their allies. For instance, through one initiative “Know Your Rights,” Spectrum’s members learn about what microaggressions are on campus; how to report them; and the resources available to them. 

One moment of hostility for which Spectrum provided critical support occurred last fall. Early in September, vandalizers ripped down rainbow flags -- symbols of solidarity and the queer community -- from the Spectrum South Ally House. The flags were later found in a nearby garbage can. Similar incidents happened two more times during the semester, and a memorial for Transgender Day of Remembrance was also vandalized.

President Eric Spina wrote an email to the campus community denouncing this bias-related vandalism. He wrote:

“We condemn this act as incompatible with our Catholic, Marianist values and our commitment to create an environment where all feel safe, supported, valued and respected. We are all called to safeguard the dignity of every person in thought, word and action, and to work together to strengthen our sense of community. This is an offense not only against certain members of our community but, indeed, an offense against the entire University community.”

While these kinds of bias-related incidents are noticeable on campus, microaggressions can be harder to see.

In the podcast, you will hear interviews that we conducted with Chloé Massie-Costales and Laura Hutchinson. They discuss their respective experiences with the LGBTQ+ community at UD. Chloé Massie-Costales is graduated this May with a degree with sociology, and during her time at UD, she was deeply involved with Spectrum. She helped us understand what bias-related incidents look like for students and how the campus climate regarding these incidents has changed over her five years on campus. Laura Hutchinson, also a UD alum, is coordinator of LGBTQ+ Support Services at the Brook Center. She explained the nuances of micro- and macro-aggressions and how bias-related incidents negatively impact LGBTQ+ students in higher education.

After talking with Chloé and Laura, we then discuss how Title IX, legal protection against discrimination on the basis of sex, does not explicitly extend to the LGBTQ+ community. We pivot to examine some of the policies that UD has in place to ensure its students are protected, whether it is in the Non Discrimination Statement or in policies such as the Chosen Name Policy.

We hope that our podcast can help listeners understand and learn about the bias-related incidents that can happen on any college campus. We hope that our listeners will become more aware of the different ways these violent incidents occur and how they can affect their peers, friends, and even family members. We hope to inform students of resources on our campus and what UD does to support them. We hope our listeners understand that using expressions such as, “That’s so gay” is harmful because it’s basically saying, “you are wrong.” 

No human is wrong. 

We also understand that social change is not something that happens overnight. While incredible strides have been made in the past few decades, it is clear that there is still so much to be done. But to be silent is to be complicit. By speaking out and educating others, we hope to make a change in people’s everyday lives. 

 🎙🎧LISTEN TO PODCAST  

Authors and Podcast Creators in Sociology 329 "Sex, Crime, and Law" course:

• Jessie Starkweather'22 (She/Her/Hers) is a Criminal Justice major
• Chris Reynolds'21 (They/Them/Theirs) is a Computer Science major

Dr. Jamie Small is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work and a Human Rights Center Faculty Research Fellow at the University of Dayton.