Symptoms of Culture Shock:

-Sadness, loneliness, melancholy

-Preoccupation with health

-Aches, pains and allergies

-Insomnia, desire to sleep too much or too little

-Changes in temperament, depression, feeling vulnerable, feeling powerless

-Anger, irritability, resentment, unwillingness to interact with others

-Identifying with the old culture or idealizing the old country

-Loss of identity

-Trying too hard to absorb everything in the new culture or country

-Unable to solve simple problems

-Lack of confidence

-Feelings of inadequacy or insecurity

-Developing stereotypes about the new culture

-Developing obsessions, such as over-cleanliness

-Longing for family

-Feelings of being lost, overlooked, exploited or abused

—Dr. Carmen Guanipa, San Diego State University



Looks like I’m starting to hear that same old reasoning again. Students of color are choosing to enroll in a “better school” than Macalester, which seems to indicate that there is something lacking here. Well, I agree. I am not saying that Macalester does not provide an excellent education (it does), but how would a student of color judge a school? Since the vast majority of higher education institutions are predominantly white, just maybe students of color would look for a place they feel welcome…

I remember first hearing about the Multicultural Admissions Student Advisory Board (MASAB). The chance to aid Admissions in recruiting more students who are like me…how could I pass that up? Thinking that my commitment would benefit in the long run, I attended most of the meetings. Well… it’s my senior year.

There was one time in MASAB that I remember quite well. I don’t recall who first brought it up, but the idea was to send current Macalester students to their old high schools to recruit during winter break. I signed up for it. Flying back with a packet of brochures and “Yes, I’m Interested” cards, I had to sneak into my high school in order to arrange a 15-minute presentation with the college-bound students. Upon my return to Macalester, I felt good. Maybe something would come of that. Well, I have the curse of trouble always finding me. It turns out that I was the only one to present and/or return with filled cards. Most of the other students involved with MASAB did not volunteer. Those who did volunteer chose not to follow through.

It was not until the next sampler that something did come out of that presentation I gave at my high school. The last day of it, when the high school students were bound for home, I was having breakfast and dreading a big test. I did not attend or volunteer for any of the sampler events because my GPA hung in the balance. While questioning those around me about the weekend, one commented that there were two students from my high school…two students from my high school…two…no one told me. I quickly found the hosts who informed me that both had left for Admissions to catch the van to the airport. I ran. For those who don’t understand, these students would have faced extreme culture shock. With no one from a similar background introducing them to Macalester… well…

I reached Admissions slightly out of breath. One student walked up to me very quickly…I recognized that she was from my area due to the glare in her eyes. The first thing she said to me was, “How can you stand it here?” No hello. No “Are you Erik from my high school?” No “Hi, my name is…” The culture shock was too extreme. I tried to sway their opinion about Macalester but they had to get in the van. A few weeks later, I spoke with their teacher who retold their horror stories. No other student from my high school has since come out for a sampler. Last month, I spoke with another student and it turns out that those stories are still being passed down.

As their van left, I realized that I was 10 minutes late for my test. I ran once again and entered with less time to take the test than my classmates… As I pondered each question… “How can you stand it here?” echoed through my head. It still does.

Students of color should not be recruiters to a culturally hegemonic school. If I had known that Macalester was some sort of makeshift industrial business where the manager asks their mostly minority workers to bring in their friends/family to job openings with the expectations that it would increase productivity, I would have collected aluminum cans instead.

The current attitude of recruitment needs to change. The institution as a whole should be trying to answer “How can we get more students of color to apply/enroll/survive the culture shock without it falling on the burden of current minority students?” We can bring as many students of color here as we want, either for the sampler or enrollment, but if the institution itself does not recognize the extent of culture shock on this campus, then the current cycle of “burned out” encumbered minorities will not end.

…“How can you stand it here?”…

Are there any alternatives to this unresolved situation that has plagued this campus for quite some time? Well… as a recent graduate consoled me the night of my MASAB marathon, “We need to starve Mac of students of color. We’re just performers to them. By our absence, we will finally be recognized not as tokens but as an essential part of learning in the classroom.”

Why don’t we all ask ourselves “How can you stand it here?”