By: Candice Stilwell
Whitworth’s mission is to provide an “education of mind and heart,” but is this happening outside the classroom as well as within? Is Whitworth fostering a group of community leaders and Resident Assistants (RAs) that are ready to work with and love on a diverse group of people on campus?
There is certainly a lot of work that goes into becoming an RA at Whitworth University. Part of that work is the training they undergo prior to residents joining them on campus. Throughout training, RAs focus on several different things, including cultural competency lessons. Cultural competency is defined by the Child Welfare Information Gateway as the capacity people have to “respectfully and effectively” work with a wide range of diverse people “and protects and preserves the dignity of each [individual].” Whitworth University focuses very specifically on cultural competency for RAs and dedicates significant time to this topic.
One-third of this section of training involves learning how to engage specifically with people who have disabilities. Krista Maroni, Director of Residence Life and Housing for Whitworth University, organizes and designs these trainings and has been involved in residence life for over 8 years.
When discussing the intent behind these trainings, Maroni specified that there are three principles she designs these sessions to develop: focusing on safety, gaining perspective and empathy for diverse people and being comfortable facilitating conversations with students about their differences.
Another important lesson that comes with their cultural competency training is how disability is defined. Maroni explained that the training uses the ADA’s definition of a disability, which is, “A person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such an impairment or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment.”
The CDC has a similar description, but also specifies that, “There are many types of disabilities, such as those that affect a person’s vision, movement, thinking, remembering, learning, communicating, hearing, mental health [and/or] social relationships.”
Both definitions are important to observe, but they are definitions that tend to be used for legal practices rather than for gaining interpersonal connection. Are these types of definitions relevant for the relationships that an RA needs to be able to make?
Nathaniel Rodriguez, a first time RA in Oliver Hall, explained that during the cultural competencies portion of training, RAs first looked at real life experiences and thoughts that people with disabilities had posted on Twitter. The focus was on recognizing that these were real people with real experiences, both good and bad.
After that, they discussed how they defined a disability for their purposes. Iona Cairncross, a former RA and the current Oliver-Boppell Area Coordinator, mentioned that, last year, this conversation was something she found impactful. They discussed who in the room did or didn’t have a disability, and that disabilities are not just physical or developmental- things like mental illness or ADHD can be a disability as well. There was also an emphasis placed on this just being one facet of a person’s identity.
The goal in these discussions is to broaden what the term disability means to people and to destigmatize the word disability. Our culture tends to see the word disability, and the experience of having a disability, with a negative connotation. As a person with a disability myself, I can tell you that there is nothing worse than interacting with someone who pities or looks down on you for having a disability. It’s demeaning and unnecessary! I’m proud of who I am, and my disability is a part of that. The point of this training is to help RA’s who may not have a disability to recognize that a disability is just a segment of a person’s identity. It doesn’t need to be a taboo, unfavorable thing in the spaces and cultures we create.
Northeastern University reports, “A more diverse university community opens all students up to a broader range of perspectives, helping them become better problem solvers and introducing them to new ways of thinking. Focusing on diversity can also connect the university community to the larger one in which it sits.” The ability Whitworths leadership possesses to be accepting and loving towards all people on campus will be reflected in our greater community and our world.
Rodriguez, a secondary education major, had already taken a course on diversity and inclusion by the time he was training to be an RA. This gave him an advantage during RA training. But the training still clarified his viewpoints. He said, “Before that [training], I thought of disabilities as more of like a physical, visual impairment… a problem. After that… it’s more like, ‘okay, literally tons of people have disabilities. Like, I have a disability because I need glasses’. It’s not a negative thing, it’s just a part of someone’s identity.” His nonchalant, matter-of-fact viewpoint on disabilities is a great catalyst for mutual respect between him and the people he interacts with.
A big part of our culture tends to overly sympathize with people with disabilities and doesn’t see them as more than their diagnoses—especially if that disability is easy to see. Giving a broader, more neutral frame of reference to what a disability is negates a lot of those harmful tendencies in our culture. It is extremely vital for an RA to have that capacity within them.
Psychology Today reports in a 2019 article that “Research shows that diverse work groups produce more cognitive processing and more exchange of information. Diversity brings in new ideas and experiences, and people can learn from each other. Bringing in different ideas and perspectives leads to better problem-solving. Working in diverse teams opens dialogue and promotes creativity. When we meet and live and work with people who are different, we are more likely to be exposed to new ideas and new ways of thinking. Mixing with people of different backgrounds and life experiences brings us to question why we are doing things the way we do. It forces a questioning of values and beliefs.”
US News agrees and specifically discusses college campus diversity, saying, “Diverse college campuses offer more worldviews for students to consider and engage with. College students can learn from peers with different perspectives shaped by a variety of experiences. The interaction between students with different worldviews can help change minds or shape ideas.”
In short, diversity is essential to expanding our minds, which is key to Whitworth’s educational goals for its students. The importance of diversity means that we must be equipped to engage courteously with the wide range of diverse people we find on campus.
Cairncross agrees that this training topic is paramount to our campus culture. From her mindset, “Diversity, equity and inclusion are words we use to describe difference in race, gender, sexual orientation, ability, background and culture. It’s really very broad. We use that to encourage ourselves to think of all populations and all people when planning different events and training to eliminate any unintentional biases.”
She believes this is invaluable for RAs because they are “in charge of trying to build a community and welcome all people into that community. It’s really important that they hold that lens to avoid excluding people. My hope is that every RA has been pushed to learn something new and pushed outside their comfort zone.”
Rodriguez says, “I did think the training was accurate and helpful. I think it was done in good taste, because that can be a touchy subject, and the information lined up with stuff I had previously heard. Your job as an RA is to create a safe and welcoming environment for all the students in the dorm and on campus. When you have a large, diverse body of students, you’re going to have people with disabilities. It’s important to create a safe, welcoming environment by understanding and relating to them, [and] treating them as you would any other students.”
He further emphasizes the training’s importance by saying,” This training is helpful for everyone because we’re all going to have different jobs in different fields, and in all likelihood, you’re going to either encounter co-workers, customers or associates [who] have disabilities. It’s important to know how to treat them and approach them without bias.”
I must agree with Rodriguez’s statement. The training the RAs go through is more than sufficient in creating and continuing a loving, accepting culture between students on campus. Whitworth University is full of genuine, kind people who certainly know to see a disability as nothing more than a part of who people are— and how to love them regardless of their disability.
