Protected Class

Lauren Siegel’s difficulty seeing affects her everyday life in some ways, but most jarring are the social implications. When’s the last time you were at a restaurant and the waiter asked your parents, “What does she want?” That still happens to Lauren, and she’s in her second year in college. Lauren shares stories of people stopping traffic to help her cross the street (something she regularly does perfectly well on her own), lacking blind role models growing up, and the financial costs of being born legally blind.

The Whittenburg name carries weight, especially at NC State. Basketball legend Dereck Whittenburg led NC State to its second men’s basketball championship win, and as of recently, Nashia Whittenburg is director of NC State’s Multicultural Student Affairs. Just a few miles south, in Greenville, South Carolina, A.J. Whittenberg has an elementary school named after him to honor his efforts desegregating schools in that area. I spoke with Nashia to talk about her experience growing up in a place that was extremely hostile toward her, even as an 8-year-old. Nashia’s tells raw stories from her upbringing in this episode, many of which emphasize the perseverance and strength of her and her family. We also laughed over the story of how NBA star Kevin Garnett broke her glasses in high school.

Lisa LaBarbera-Mascote is a practitioner of feminist theory. She leads a community center at NC State that she says is a bit of a misnomer: the Women’s Center. What does the Center actually do? And why is it necessary in the first place? Lisa spoke with me about Roy Moore, Title IX, class privilege, and how conversations about interpersonal violence need to improve. She also told me about the jarring experience in college that opened her eyes to issues of sexism.

Moses T. Alexander Greene has a proud history, background, and upbringing. He also has a lot to teach anybody who will listen—but particularly white people like me—just how directly the history of race impacts the history of all the things we hold dear, especially our university. Learn how NC State went from being exclusively for straight, white men to what it is today, and discussion about how we should wrestle with that history. And yes, we talked also about Dixie. For a little background, see Student Body President Jackie Gonzalez’s op-ed published in Technician on the word’s usage in NC State’s alma mater, and my response to her article.

Carolina came to NC State to learn English, and stayed to study forest biomaterials. She was lucky to surround herself with people who are understanding of when she sometimes experiences syncope (i.e. fainting), but not everybody she’s met in Colombia or the United States takes her condition seriously. She says it’s not uncommon for her to be laughed at when she shares about her disability, and even that an NC State employee once laughed at her while she was trying to get an accommodation.

Sinthia Shabnam speaks in different venues around campus with messages of unity, and acts as a humanizing face of Islam. But, she wants you to know: she is not a representative for all of Islam, and she doesn’t fit the stereotypes put onto her. Hear what she has to say about anti-Islam sentiments, her one-year experience living in a community where she couldn’t find her place, and why her mother was scared to see her interviewed on TV.

How do you explain to your dad that you’re gay when you’re afraid he might not accept it? When and where is it safe to discuss sexuality? What are the effects of five percent of Americans being invisible to the people around them? One of NC State’s most visible and active students discusses these questions, his own sexuality, and what it was like to come out to his friends and family in high school.

What do vulnerability and emotional honesty have to do with dialogues about race? What cognitive effects take place that make those conversations difficult? A premier NC State psychologist answers these questions, along with some about her personal experience as a black woman pursuing a career in higher education.

Identity pervades political discourse, but societal rifts make conversations about identity nearly impossible, which then deepens political divides. How do we move forward in such a deeply divided society?