Beyond FRESHMAN YEAR: Dis.course

Catharine Wright teaches in the Writing Program at the Middlebury College Center for Teaching, Learning, and Research in Middlebury, Vermont. She also runs a stellar diversity blog: Dis.course. Check out linked student blogs on tolerance issues, a comprehensive list of recommended reads, and posts on hot topics such as Color and Power, Socioeconomics, and Ethnicity and Race. Wright states that the original goal of the blog was to expand on her Writing Across Differences class. “It seems necessary that individuals have outlets for this sort of written expression beyond a class,” she notes, “that there exist college-wide forums, indeed, nation-wide forums for writing that aren’t assigned or evaluated, but that encourage direct speech about social issues simply because of the individual and collective need for it.”

Currently at the top of the linked page is a reference to one student’s recent entry on her own blog, Politics of Identity. Ariana Figueroa’s detailed and moving post of August 28 reveals the type of identity struggle many people of mixed-race heritage endure. Ariana’s personal search for self-identity places her between two worlds (one Southern, the other Cuban) she literally barely understands.

Look for more “Beyond FRESHMAN YEAR” posts on college and university programs that promote diversity on campus. As higher-ed student populations across the country continue to diversify, the need for programs that teach tolerance and raise awareness become all the more critical. Kudos to Catharine Wright and faculty members like her for their determination and their devotion to such a worthy cause!