I am writing in response to Robert Baptiste’s Sept. 24 column “Diversity more than just ethnic background.” Mr. Baptiste made many good points, but I feel mildly slighted that the minority group of which I am a member was not mentioned.

I am a junior majoring in English Education and I have been at Iowa State for two semesters. I have so far earned a GPA of 3.46 and am taking fifteen credit hours this semester. The physical characteristics that identify me as a minority are obvious and cannot be ignored — I am “The Older Student.”

As I do not live on or near campus, I ride the bus to class. I try to maintain a friendly demeanor all the time, but few of my fellow riders ever make eye contact with me or even acknowledge my presence. Even those I recognize from classes sometimes seem reluctant to acknowledge me. This may be the nature of “bus culture,” where the journey is merely a necessary evil to be endured in isolation and not a social occasion — but I regularly see friendly and spirited interactions among other students on the bus.

Walking across campus, I sometimes attract what I think are startled or puzzled looks from fellow students when they see me. I often get the feeling that the question behind those eyes is “What is he doing here?” This may be pure paranoia on my part, but it’s hard to tell.

Some professors have singled me out in class, with good intentions, I’m sure. My impression is that these professors believe I have knowledge or experience different than that of other students in the class, attributes from which the class might profit. Whether this is true or not, I am not usually comfortable being recognized in such a public manner.

I have never been contacted by any campus organization, social or academic, which solicited my involvement in their activities, except a sociology class studying my particular group, requesting that I complete their questionnaire. This may be typical of all students’ experience, but I just don’t know.

I don’t mean to imply that I have been shunned. Thank you to all who have reached out past my evident differences and treated me as a social equal, but too often it seems no one makes the effort to span the gulfs that lie between us all. Perhaps these few connections are all I should expect or perhaps I myself have not reached out to others enough, but I still feel estranged.

What can I do?

C. Holstegge

Junior

English Education