On Tuesday afternoon, I was out walking across campus when a young woman — who appeared to be either Asian or Asian-American — passed me on the sidewalk wearing a surgical mask. Moments later, she also passed a group of three male students. Once out of earshot, I immediately heard one of these students make some snide comment about the mask and the woman wearing it, and out of the other two I heard some barely quelled laughs.

Whether an incident like this or the poking fun at others’ accents, as I’ve also often heard in passing, these are just the kind of seemingly mild victimizations, or microaggressions, that are such an issue on our campus.

Little spoonful by little spoonful, it’s these kinds of interactions that can contribute to an environment of discomfort and fear for our minority populations. It’s just these kinds of moments and scenes — which are played out far more frequently than probably any of us realize — that provide for the unease and conflict so detrimental to a healthy, safe and productive university learning environment for all.

Surgical masks, like the one I saw this woman wearing, are commonly worn by East Asians (and others) for a variety of reasons.

Many wear them to prevent the spread of colds, to combat pollen allergies —hay fever has been an issue among the Japanese population ever since a period of rapid deforestation in the 1960s led to abnormally high amounts of pollen being introduced to the air — and even for psychological purposes or as fashion statements. They are far more culturally acceptable in Japan and other Asian countries than here (even expected, to some extent, when a person is ill).

But this is all beside the point. The issue is in our campus’ sometimes understated, and sometimes explicit atmosphere of criticism and animosity toward all that’s different and out of place — and most Ames students certainly aren’t used to seeing surgical masks casually worn in public.

Universities are melting pots for different cultures, backgrounds and points of view. This is one of their greatest assets, but also one of their greatest points of conflict. It’s important that we continue to address this issue and engage in this discussion. It’s our faculty’s duty to educate their students in this subject and to promote an inclusive environment. This is what makes a higher education so valuable: exposure, perspective and then understanding.    

No, there aren’t students standing out front of Parks Library with signs that read “International Students Are Unwelcome.” There aren’t sections of the dining centers roped off for minorities. There isn’t blatant, barefaced racism. But what there is, is a mostly unspoken, indirect, subtle and ultimately invasive atmosphere of dislocation experienced by a portion of our student body — and it’s all our community’s responsibility to address this.  

This is what I have to say to every member of our Iowa State community: Don’t be so quick to any kind of judgment. Be understanding. Be considerate. Think how you’d feel thrown into a university in a country halfway across the world, in a community that might even speak an entirely different language than your native tongue — all alone, everything on your shoulders and everyone else different from you.

Think about what you say and what you do — before you do it and before you say it. Don’t poke fun at others’ expense for a cheap laugh or two. Be compassionate and empathetic. These are simple lessons; the sorts of lessons all of us were supposed to have learned in preschool and grade school. But our campus’ behavior doesn’t show that.

The world is home to hundreds, even thousands of cultures. The American Midwest is just one of them. When confronted with something or someone exhibiting some different behavior, style, custom or whatever it is, check your preconceptions at the door.