PROMPT: I want you
to consider more deeply the way race and gender figure into your neighborhood.
You should think about demographics, certainly, but look more closely: are
there specific representations of race or gender in your neighborhood? What are
they? How do you know they are coded to/by specific races or genders? What are
the marks or framework of racialized or gendered space? What role does mobility
or participation play in your assessment? Is a sense of safety different for
disparate groups? Who is "out of place" in your neighborhood? You
might also examine the school in this regard. Again, it is not necessary to
answer all of these questions; my goal is that you begin to critically analyze
your preconceptions about where you live.
I live in Manzanita, the only all girls dorm on campus. My
neighborhood, at least the immediate neighborhood consisting of my dorm and
neighbors, is very gender separated: there are only girls! The signs are
obvious: as you walk down the halls, doors are open to brightly colored,
friendly looking spaces. Girls walk the halls, asking neighbors for fingernail
polish or to borrow a hair dryer. The whole hall has a very friendly, girlish
feel. From visiting friends in Lincoln Hall, the all boy dorm on campus, I can
tell you that it’s a different story. Even just walking by the outside of the
dorm, the vibe is different. The steps are filled with guitar-toting guys on
most days, and inside the dorm it’s much less talkative than Manzanita. These
are the two places on campus that are clearly representations of gender.
Of course, once you leave Manzanita and Lincoln, it’s a
different story. There’s an equal mix of genders and races outside of these two
dorms. I’m from a small-ish town in California, near Sacramento, and the
neighborhood that I grew up in was primarily white. Coming here to Reno has
certainly been different, and I like it. The mix of ethnicities on campus is so
different from back home. I can’t help but think about the rich cultural mix
that we have on campus, which is so different from what I’m used to. Back in
Manzanita, we’re fairly well mixed racially. Because my neighborhood doesn’t
extend far past the borders of the University, I can’t say I’ve discovered many
places that I would classify as being “racialized space.” As far as I’ve
discovered throughout the University, everywhere is welcome to everyone.
Everyone here seems friendly and open, regardless of race or gender.
As open as everyone is, there is a definite line between
students and University members and “outsiders.” It’s not too common in the
interior of the campus, out by the Quad where most of the classrooms are
concentrated, but walking down North Virginia Street, there is a definite feel
of outsiders: migrants from the streets of the nearby Downtown Reno. Students
sense the outsiders and tend to walk by quickly with heads bent down and path
in mind. But these instances aren’t too common, and are the exception to the
welcoming feel that most of the University exudes.
No, as a University, I wouldn’t say that there’s really any “racialized
or gendered space,” other than the obvious Manzanita and Lincoln Halls.
Everyone seems to be welcome everywhere. The only outsiders seem to be those
who clearly aren’t from the University. Otherwise, the University is welcoming,
whatever the race or gender.
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