| is placed in a classroom with students whose level of academic preparation is much higher than his own. He can end up learning less than he would have been capable of. Such a student has, through no fault of his own, been “mismatched.” I have every confidence, for example, that I could learn basic physics, despite the fact that I have never taken a course in it and my mathematics skills are a little rusty. On the other hand, if you were to throw me into the Basic Physics course at Caltech, with many of the very best science students in the world, I would be lost and likely learn little, if anything. I would be mismatched. On a good day, I might make a few lame jokes about how law professors just aren’t geeky enough to do physics; on a bad day, I might even get a little prickly about it. But it is unlikely that I would come out of that class as competent in the basic principles of physics as I would have in a less high-powered setting. That doesn’t mean that putting students into separate groups according to their academic performance—“tracking,” as it is sometimes called—is always beneficial. In elementary schools, for example, students who are put in the less advanced class may be somewhat more likely to have behavioral problems. As a result, concentrating them together in one class can potentially make that class less effective. But research has shown that mismatch is |
black students of the era to sport Afros, they were nearly ubiquitous (and more impressive) among Ujamaa residents, both male and female. Cornrows and ostensibly African attire and effects also were more prevalent among Ujamaa residents. Dorm-room walls sported African-themed posters and art extolling the virtues of all things African and black; the overall effect was an uncanny preview of the imagery contained in the Black Panther film released nearly fifty years later. There was a greater insularity among Ujamaa residents than the rest of the black students on campus. The tendency to self-segregate while dining, partying, and studying persisted from matriculation through graduation. A vague sense of militancy hung over the dorm; allegations, rumors, and protests of disparate treatment seemed disproportionately to emanate from Ujamaa relative to black students in other residence halls. Today, Ujamaa Residential College is a residential complex that “celebrates the rich and diverse heritage of Black people in the United States, Africa, the Caribbean, and other regions of the world.” Prospective residents are assured, “Understand that we, the Ujamaa residential team foster individuals defining their Blackness and living in their truth.” Jalissa Elias, who is currently the residence hall director for Ujamaa, wrote in her official profile, “My passion is developing ways for students who hold marginalized identities to have positive experiences in higher education.” Elias’s goal sounds innocuous enough. But what exactly are “marginalized identities”? Presumably skin color, given that this residence is dedicated to the experience of black people. Exactly why skin color |
