Table of Contents
Role-Playing Exercise Angers RA at ASU, Illustrates Potential Problems with Mandatory Sensitivity Training
A student at Arizona State University (ASU) has raised objections to a role-playing exercise he participated in as part of the diversity training required of incoming residence assistants, (AZ).
In the exercise, Ryan Visconti, a senior at ASU, was required to portray a gay Hispanic male and told to 鈥渃reate his perfect life鈥 by visiting booths (鈥渓ife stations鈥) representing his opportunities in housing, employment, banking, worship, and other facets of life. At each booth, the exercise required Visconti to repeat scripted responses meant to correspond to his assigned sexual orientation and ethnicity, with most outcomes being negative. For example, no matter how much he pleaded, Visconti was told at the 鈥渃hurch鈥 booth that he was going to hell and that 鈥渉is kind鈥 weren鈥檛 allowed. Similarly, the 鈥渉ousing鈥 and 鈥渆mployment鈥 booths informed him that 鈥渉e could be a landscaper and live in a ghetto apartment or be unemployed and homeless.鈥
While an ASU Residential Life spokeswoman told the Tribune that the exercise was an attempt to 鈥渆xamine the effects of racism, classism and 鈥榟omophobia鈥 on different cultural and economic groups,鈥 Visconti says that rather than demonstrate the ways in which demographic diversity enriches a community, the role-playing instead 鈥渞einforce[d] the most disgusting, hateful and ugly stereotypes in our society.鈥 Visconti added that he found the examples used in the exercise to be too extreme to be of any real use in understanding the problems of others.
While in all likelihood ASU, as a public institution, may legally require employees to attend training sessions like the one in question here, Visconti鈥檚 concerns illustrate the potentially problematic aspects of mandatory sensitivity training, particularly when the training attempts to promote a particular conception of cultural difference. (Legal or not, FIREwould unequivocally oppose the imposition of such training on non-employee students.) Visconti argues that the training session was 鈥渂asically saying that if you don鈥檛 feel the same way, you鈥檙e wrong,鈥 and that if 鈥測ou weren鈥檛 a minority or gay, you were supposed to feel guilty and that everything was given to you in life.鈥 The problem with this kind of top-down enforcement of 鈥渟ensitivity鈥 is that it too often casually ignores the individual student鈥檚 right to disagree with the imposed viewpoint. Further, the trainers may be blind to the possibility that in insisting on a particular conception of difference, they themselves may be furthering harmful stereotypes. As the Tribune article points out, Visconti believes that 鈥渢he students who designed the roleplay overlooked their own stereotypes, such as the notion that white men don鈥檛 have to work for wealth because society gives them a free ride.鈥
If executed properly, students may be able to gain useful insight from the kind of peer-to-peer dialogue that role-playing exercises attempt to promote. At universities in a democratic society, there is always value in finding ways to initiate discussion between students about politically charged and otherwise unapproachable subjects. However, great care鈥攆ar more care than in evidence at ASU鈥攊s required to make sure that students with unpopular or simply different conceptions of social value aren鈥檛 steamrolled by an 鈥渙fficial鈥 worldview, replete with its own internal prejudices. Here, for example, it seems that ASU is attempting to combat negative stereotyping with, well, more negative stereotyping. That鈥檚 two steps backwards and none forward.
After all, it isn鈥檛 all that far a leap from ASU鈥檚 role-playing exercise to the mandatory 鈥渁ccountability training鈥 that FIREis actively challenging at Michigan State University. In each instance, students are forced to accept a particular viewpoint鈥攁nd the ideological assumptions inherent within鈥攊n order to demonstrate their suitability as members of the university community. In a free society, this kind of thought reform is unacceptable. Before taking another crack at designing a role-playing exercise to facilitate discussion and consideration of difference, FIREstrongly recommends that ASU students and administrators first familiarize themselves with 果冻传媒app官方鈥檚 Guide to First-Year Orientation and Thought Reform on Campus, to make sure that they steer well clear of intruding upon their students鈥 right of conscience鈥攁 right James Madison astutely deemed one of 鈥渢he choicest privileges of the people.鈥
Recent Articles
FIRE鈥檚 award-winning Newsdesk covers the free speech news you need to stay informed.
Five scary threats to free speech
Election season and Halloween conjure up frightening threats to free expression. Here are five that FIREis monitoring this year.
Let the uninhibited debate begin! 鈥 Lukianoff v. Franks? 鈥 First Amendment News 445
George Washington Law professor Mary Anne Franks is ready to take on some noted First Amendment advocates, including 果冻传媒app官方鈥檚 own CEO Greg Lukianoff.
The First Amendment protects your right to trick or treat
Don鈥檛 be a free speech ogre on Halloween. Dressing up in costumes and asking for candy are constitutionally protected forms of free expression.
Minnesota state agency must drop investigation of employee鈥檚 Facebook post
Political pressure is mounting on the Minnesota Department of Resources to fire Tyler Janke for his post about the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump in July.