This past Thursday the Latin American Student Association (LASA) hosted CSELO’s Twisted Thursday with the theme of picking a stereotype that individual students have been called before or one that goes with who they are. The #Squashstereotypes was used for social media posts.
“I’m black, but I’m not the sidekick ‘black best friend’ to a white person like Hollywood makes us be,” says sophomore Khaaliq Crowder. “I chose this stereotype because I’m a communication major so I like to study representations of people of color in the media.”
Senior, Robert Durant decided to write, “Just because I’m black doesn’t mean I don’t know or have a bad relationship with my father. #SquashStereotypes.”
“Because of this stereotype I felt obligated to plan and host an event with my fraternity, Phi Beta Sigma, about fatherhood in society and explore the different faces it has in different racial and ethnic communities,” Durant said.
Sophomore Ayleene Parada said, “Just because I’m Hispanic does not mean I’m lazy.”
When asked how this stereotype affects her she responded saying, “The stereotype of the Hispanic culture is that we are lazy and don’t work we basically just take up space.”
“Just because I’m black doesn’t mean that I’m ghetto, ratchet or ignorant,” says sophomore Zenobia Johnson.
When discussing the importance of defeating this stereotype she said, “I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that I’m the girl you just thought of when I said Brooklyn. Yes, I’m deeply rooted in where I’m from, but that doesn’t define me as a person.”
Freshman Dareika Palmer says, “Just because I’m Jamaican doesn’t mean I smoke ganja!!”. She continued saying, “It’s something I get often, it makes me feel awkward because it’s not a way to start a conversation.”
“Just because I’m Colombian doesn’t mean the woman in my family have had plastic surgery. Everyone asks if the woman in my family have fake boobs and when I see a pretty Colombian woman I hear people putting her down,” says senior Mike Morales.
Freshman, Nathalie Perez says, “Just because I’m Colombian doesn’t mean that I’m related to Pablo Escobar. People assume automatically that I’m related to him and that I’m associated with drug trade.”
Senior Nicole Smalls discusses a stereotype that bothers her, saying, “Just because I’m a black woman doesn’t mean I’m always angry.” She continued saying, “People who don’t know me ask if I’m an angry black woman because of the way the media portrays Black women.”
“Just because I didn’t grow up in the best neighborhood doesn’t mean that I will allow that to determine my future. Many people assume that if you grow up in rough neighborhood this will determine whether you succeed or fail, your intelligence, and how you carry yourself,” says senior Mackenzie Upshaw.
These were only a few of the stereotypes discussed that night, and there are many more equally as important that we all must work to defeat. The night was a success, bringing a sense of unity throughout the entire act of writing down and defeating these ignorant stereotypes.
