It’s no secret competition is the life and breath of The Plains.
It’s a privilege to study with world-renowned scholars and experts in various fields that solve, enhance or address societal challenges. Yet, the preparation for traditionally underrepresented students to thrive as scholars does not receive comparable attention to the majority of the graduate student community.
AU recruits graduate students from around the world to learn, develop and transform as academics, scholars and practitioners providing individual and intentional support to specific student populations. Domestic graduate students have various reasons for pursuing a graduate degree, with a large majority aiming to influence policy to be more inclusive of all the identities in our country.
Yet, an increasing amount of communications through the University website showcase the achievements of only international students over domestic students. What is being communicated to domestic graduate students is different than the lived experience in the graduate community.
Not all graduate students are prepared for life after graduation in holistic ways at AU. The graduate student environment is marketed on the website to target all students except those from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds. When domestic graduate students congregate in large numbers in spaces on campus, it’s questioned.
The Unsung Hero Awards Gala is an example of such. Bringing in the 2023 Black History Month, being Black at Auburn continues to illuminate the limited capacity and interest the institution has in supporting Black domestic graduate students in their expression on-campus.
It’s one of two signature events the BGPSA hosts for all students on campus. Though the purpose and mission of the organization cater to Black domestic graduate students first, the Unsung Hero Awards Gala along with the Diversity Campus Experience are university-wide, community-centered events that welcome everyone to celebrate more inclusivity on campus.
The Gala is a 100% student-coordinated celebration of the achievements the whole graduate student community has made at AU or in the local community. On the fourth day of the 2023 Black History Month, the planning committee was forced to cancel the event as the institution revoked funds and resources for the event that were established prior to spring 2023.
This is a majorly important example of how Black domestic graduate students are limited in their expression when the organization of the event was well-documented and outlined for institutional leadership. As a Black domestic graduate student native to the region, I find it disheartening to witness the deliberate exclusion of Black domestic graduate students in our expression of our culture on campus.
It’s no secret indigenous peoples are welcoming and inviting of cultures unknown to us, yet we do not receive the same in return. We have to prove ourselves worthy of being in the room, and that brings me to the purpose of this letter.
More specifically, Black domestic graduate students are recruited and invited to attend what some consider one of the most prestigious universities in the Deep South, and are lumped together with international students who share the same skin complexion.
What the graduate school fails to realize is the cultural differences that influence how students engage with each other and the leadership on campus. Black domestic graduate students are descendants of the African diaspora, yet they recall no instance of living anywhere outside the States.
Most remain underserved, underrepresented, and marginalized inside and outside the classroom while international students are invited and welcomed to express themselves on campus. Therefore, it communicates a crabs in a barrel mentality to the graduate community to be in competition for the support from the graduate school who continues to boast through one-on-one and email exchanges their support, yet it has not translated into the larger domestic graduate community.
Of course, there’s more to the story. The aim here is to provide insight from an alternative domestic graduate student perspective that is traditionally silenced in these environments. Understanding, the leadership in the graduate school is limited in Human Resources and institutional capacity has competing priorities is important, therefore the resources available to all graduate students are not balanced in a way that allows all graduate students to express themselves, feel a sense of belonging on campus, and promote harmony within the graduate student community.
Traditionally, the culture in The Plains is a crabs in a barrel mentality that no longer serves us well as college enrollments and the reputation of higher education decline. Is this truly how the Auburn Family aims to move forward?
Clarissa Beavers is a third year Ph.D. student at Auburn University.
The opinions expressed in columns and letters represent the views and opinions of their individual authors.
These opinions do not necessarily reflect the Auburn University student body, faculty, administration or Board of Trustees.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
