The Observer, March 9, 2007
Volume XXXIX, Issue 20
One Foot Out the Door: Diversity not limited to Case experiences; more to learn past university community
I was late, and the last thing I wanted to hear found its way straight to my face: "You mean after I serve you for how many years you can't even say hi to me?"
She stood there and stared blankly, while I filled my coffee in University Hospital's cafeteria and eyed my watch. Seeing that I was presumably in a rush, she gave me a three-year summary in about half a minute, explaining that I saw her nearly every day in most of that time. She worked at Leutner and served me food every day for two years, then moved away briefly for college, and was now back in Cleveland working before going back to school. She wanted to tell me more, but the glance at my watch before she started already ruined any chance of that. There is a great story there that I am only starting to engage in during my last months as an undergraduate at Case.
A couple days before this exchange I had met a pre-medical anthropology student from a state university just ten minutes from our campus. His view about studying in the social sciences as a background for professional training was on the surface similar to my own. By the end of the conversation I could not think about anthropology in the same way after he managed to incorporate life experiences so far from my own into his education. This too is another story developing only minutes from me that I am just now starting to hear.
Our campus makes a lot of efforts to encourage diversity on campus – diversity of thinking, diversity of backgrounds, and diversity of career choices. I am only now realizing that the entire four year experience here can easily be dominated by the stories of other Case students chasing similar careers. In some ways, that is not diverse at all – students living in the same place being structured by similar routines.
Having a diverse college experience demands at least two elements: having meaningful exchanges with non-students on campus, and getting off campus to engage other versions of your own life.
When was the last time you wanted to study, and decided to go ten minutes off campus to a coffee shop downtown? How many non-student friendships have you formed in your time at Case? Of course this is uncomfortable and inconvenient. But so is hearing someone you see regularly everyday respond in so many words to the expression on your face that said you were too busy to hear what they have to say.
Ibrahim is a senior Medical Anthropology major who has just returned from a year abroad in London.
