STEM MINORITIES INTERVIEW
By: ALETHEIA ZOU
Kai Lockwood, upper, day stud, they/them
Which part(s) of your identity do you feel most isolates you in STEM?
I think the part of my identity that isolates me the most in the STEM fields is being non-binary. It is isolating because I have never met or known of a mentor or someone who is older than me in the STEM fields who is non-binary. I am sure there are people out there but for every other part of my identity, being bi, being disabled, I have adults who I can look up to in the STEM fields and see okay this is someone I could be like when I am older and as I have said previously being non-binary there really isn't anyone.
Have you experienced and/or noticed discrimination (including microaggressions) in your STEM classes or clubs on campus? How does this impact you?
One microaggression is always teachers not asking for pronouns. I know it is not something that normally crosses cisgender, non-transgender, people's radars, but for a non-binary student it is a big thing because using proper names and pronouns is a big part of being validated as a non-binary person especially since I use they/them/theirs pronouns, which are not very common on campus.
Have you ever felt unheard or taken less seriously because of your identity?
Yes, sometimes I almost feel at competitions in robotics or things that I am just a diversity chip. Like that, I am there so that our team has a non-binary person and that is often damaging because it makes me feel like I am less a part of the team than everyone else. Also, I think there is this assumption with being trans or being part of a minority especially being LGBTQIA+ that you are a fragile special snowflake and sometimes I think that makes people take what I have to say on different issues especially political issues less seriously.
What do you think Exeter can do to even the playing field for all people in STEM classes?
I think the main thing Exeter can do is noticing that no one group of people is inherently better than any other group at STEM and that the classroom is a learning space. I think sometimes I have run into teachers that prioritize the viewpoints of more experienced, more knowledgeable Exonians in the harkness discussion and can ignore those of students with less initial knowledge, even though the classroom is a learning environment.
What advice would you give to a minority student going into a STEM field?
My advice would be to stick with it. Many wonderful people have been turned away from STEM because they do not see someone like them who has made it in the STEM field but that is not a reason to be discouraged, because if you make it you can be an inspiration for the next generation of kids in STEM.
Anonymous, lower, Merrill, she/her
Which part(s) of your identity do you feel most isolates you in STEM?
Probably being a girl in stem; I come from a heavily Asian middle school, so my race hasn’t been too big a deal in my life. However, being a girl is pretty isolating because it’s one of the attributes you can easily and directly see.
Have you experienced and/or noticed discrimination (including microaggressions) in your STEM classes or clubs on campus? How does this impact you?
There’s a bit of a posture and expression change, especially in more unequal gendered STEM class, that’s more isolating - sort of like there’s a pretty clear distinction between genders. Usually, people are pretty nice so it doesn’t make too much of an impact, but sometimes it downgrades the role you play or your intelligence, or others assume that you’ll have a harder time going higher in the subject or completing that class.
Have you ever felt unheard or taken less seriously because of your identity?
There’s a bit of the asian stereotype that “the parents are making me do this”, so I feel like whenever I’m talking about my STEM interests, people aren't fully convinced.
What advice would you give to a minority student going into a STEM field?
If you love it, do it. If you can’t stand the environment, change it or step back and think if this is too harmful. If you aren’t sure, do what you enjoy.
Yunseo Choi, upper, Merrill, she/her
What STEM classes/clubs/positions are you in?
Mainly I do math, and competitions are like a really big part of that, and I'm part of the math team, and math club. In math club we have different rooms, like different levels you're in, and the room I'm in right now is the top group and everyone but me are guys. And a subset of that group is part of the Exeter math team where we go and compete, and that team–I was a part of that team last year–I was the only girl there too.
Have you experienced and/or noticed discrimination (including microaggressions) in your STEM classes or clubs on campus? How does this impact you?
I think it's definitely got better from prep year, probably because I got to know people better and I'm also an upperclassman now, but I think some aspect is just that there's some things I just- some people in the room just have more common ground than what I have, and also a lot of them are really close friends outside the math team. I think it's just… they'll never be like my main friends. But I think prep year there was definitely more of that... there were a couple instances last year when I would ask a question in the middle of a meeting and I'd feel like someone just cut my words, and I don't know whether that was because they were so onto what they were trying to say, but sometimes it just felt like it was because I was a girl, like I was the only one in the classroom. My personality is like.. I don't just sit there and let them cut me off, and so one time I just called them out and was like, "you shouldn't cut me like this, you keep doing this and I think you should stop", and once I did I feel like it got a little better. But it's one of those things you feel like it's because you're the only girl but there's no hard evidence that it's actually true. I definitely have gotten closer to the guys on my team since prep year, so …. yeah it's definitely getting better.
Have you ever felt unheard or taken less seriously because of your identity?
Hmm. In math, after the Olympiad stage, they invite 50 kids to a training program. So at that camp they usually lower the cutoff for girls because there's not as many girls that make it, and specifically there is… not only is there IMO team for everyone, there's also one only composed of girls, and in order to compose that and make the gender ratio a little better they invite additional girls and usually lower the cutoff a lot. So for me personally, I did well enough that I didn't need the advantage, but especially during prep year, a lot of people who didn't know me well were like "yeah, you're only there cus you're a girl, if you didn't have cutoff you wouldn't have gotten in", and even if that was true for a lot of girls, it wasn't true for me. Even if it was, that was so rude. So I do understand how it might be frustrating as a guy to be so much better than a lot of the girls that make the camp and just not make it because they're a guy, but that was such a rude thing to say. Especially as a prep, hearing that from uppers and seniors.
What do you think Exeter can do to even the playing field for all people in STEM classes?
So I'm running the girls in STEM club with Angelina, so she came to me with the idea and… just experiencing that in prep and lower year, I wanted to do something to change that. So one of the aspects of the club is to have affinity discussions, so something like what you're trying to do, get the word out. In a similar vein, to talk about this as a group and share that experience. I hope if you're experiencing similar things, come to the club and talk to more people!
What advice would you give to a minority student going into a STEM field?
I think sometimes, even though I feel like… I don't wanna say discriminated, but a little singled out in some places, I also think that's what makes me special. Looking around, when there's 10-12 guys around the table and I'm the only girl, I feel like there is something I can bring into the table that's different. For example, I really like to review the questions after math club, and when people miss meetings I can offer them notes or… not to stereotype how girls/guys approach stem but I think there's just something different you can bring to the table and that diversity you bring in is so important. You might feel different, but that's also what makes you special.
Anonymous, lower, Dutch House, she/her
Which part(s) of your identity do you feel most isolates you in STEM?
It's easily being a woman. When you walk into a room, the first thing that many people notice is what sets you apart from them.
Have you experienced and/or noticed discrimination (including microaggressions) in your STEM classes or clubs on campus? How does this impact you?
In my classes I have noticed that happening, but compared to my old school, it's very different. Like a good difference. So back in my old school we were a very STEM-focused school, and we were very male-dominated in the STEM area because there were not many programs for women or minority STEM students. A lot of the time, as a captain for certain competitions related to STEM, a lot of the other captains were male and a lot of times I would be in a room where I was one of the only women or the only woman there, and oftentimes I was spoken over, ignored, interrupted, interjected, or my words just did not have the same weight as my male counterparts in this kind of environment. At Exeter, with Harkness, I expected to get spoken over a lot but it was a lot better than I expected. Everyone there was much more receptive to giving and taking in conversation, I feel like my words have a lot more weight. The only issue I might have noticed is that there are still moments where I get spoken over but that's probably just because I'm quiet and it's to a much lesser extent here.
Have you ever felt unheard or taken less seriously because of your identity?
Absolutely, and in STEM classes in my old school, especially in math, I would be faced with a lot more challenges or questions, and people disagreeing with my opinions even though my work was of equal value to theirs. A lot of the time I felt very isolated because a lot of the time I was one of the only women in the room, of course, in STEM.
What do you think Exeter can do to even the playing field for all people in STEM classes?
In STEM classes? I think some of the things Exeter has here, like cultural competency guidelines, those play a big role in it as well as helping everyone there understand the dynamics of a group and how it can be influenced by, for example, gender. Outside of STEM class, something that's always helped is women in STEM groups, like GirlsWhoCode is a comp sci organization focused on helping women break into the computer science industry and enter computer science careers.
What advice would you give to a minority student going into a STEM field?
There are going to be a lot of times when you feel like it's not right for you, and there'll be a lot of people who will try to make you feel uncomfortable or like you don't belong, but if you truly do believe that this field is right for you, you should seek out solidarity with other minority identities that share similar levels of marginalization because unifying with those groups will help you feel more at home.