YouAlberta
By Melissa
Within the current political climate and society in general, it’s important for us to remember the privileges that we may have, and how we may benefit from them. Privilege is a very complex concept with so many unique understandings — all of which are significant.
In order to give a broad scope of different types of privileges that exist, especially on a university campus, I asked individuals:
As students, why is it important for us to recognize the privileges we may have?
Here’s what they said:
Omotayo Segun-Omosehin (third year)
When you’re more aware of your privilege, your eyes become more open to things that happen in society. I didn’t understand my privilege until I came to Augustana — my privilege as someone who grew up in a relatively wealthy family in Nigeria and in a diverse area. I was used to seeing people from different cultures and accepting different beliefs. I’ve come to realized that I grew up in a place where I couldn’t be ignorant, and I learned how to accept people and their differences. Not everyone has the same background, so we have to be patient and educate people.
Kaytlin Lee (fifth year)
I think it’s important to recognize our privilege because just the fact that we’re here at university is a privilege. Sometimes, I think I forget that and it’s important to remember that I was lucky enough to have a lot of things in my life that led me to be here. A lot of people aren’t lucky enough or don’t get the chance to be in university. Especially when interacting with other people, you have to recognize what you have and what other people don’t have.
Jude Keehn (third year)
Recognizing the aspects of our lives from which we benefit from privilege is not meant to make us feel guilty, nor does it invalidate our hardships or mean that we don’t lack privilege in other areas. No form of privilege is the same as the other but being able to recognize our own privilege allows us to acknowledge that we may not truly understand a marginalized group’s experiences because of the certain privileges we may have. It means being aware that some people have to work much harder for the same opportunities you take for granted and then in reality, they may never experience them at all. It’s important that we educate ourselves so that we can better empathize and connect with others. By acknowledging the privileges that we may benefit from, we can use those platforms to speak out and take active steps towards fostering allyship.
Emily Kerr (second year)
I think recognizing your privilege is a really powerful thing because it allows you to realize the platforms that you have that you can lend to other people who may not have as much. It allows you to recognize the power that you have to spark change and to give other people privilege.
Hannan Mohamud (fourth year)
If you haven’t recognized privilege before, I think it’s important especially at a Liberal Arts institution, to now recognize it. We all plan on going into such diverse fields in the future and it’s foolish to think that you’ll always be dealing with people exactly like you. You’ll be dealing with people from all different backgrounds. I also feel that for me, there’s different layers of privilege that I have — I was born in Canada but I am black, and I am a Muslim. I am a visible minority which is not usually privileged, but for me to recognize my own privilege with my passport and my identity gives me that mindset to be open to international students or other minorities, and not overstep them when they’re advocating for what they want. Privilege is a huge thing to understand and it’s a deep thing. Google is free.
Wesley Cook (fifth year)
It’s important to recognize your privileges in order to have real empathy for those who lack those privileges. One of our tasks is to put the knowledge we gain in the context of others and not just ourselves. To have our knowledge be stuck in a completely personal context is why the western world is still reconciling problems of colonialism, civil rights, climate change, etc.