I have no idea what it's like to be a minority.
I'm a white female from the middle class. I've never been discriminated against. And when it comes to succeeding in college, many would say I have a better chance at doing so than even my male counterparts.
That's why this week's cover story (Page 8-9) is so important. It highlights ASU's low retention rate for American Indian students.
Less than two out of every three American Indian students at ASU continue on to their sophomore year, and fewer than one in four of those students actually graduate within six years.
So why are American Indian students so much less likely to do well in the University setting? Well to begin with, it has a lot to do with the way society as a whole views minorities. We've become so politically correct that we're afraid to point out problems, such as low retention rates, that exist among minority groups. What if we offend someone by suggesting that they're less likely to succeed than others just because of their ethnic background or the color of their skin?
Of course, no one's suggesting that American Indians are less likely to succeed in academia simply because they are American Indian. Rather, it's because our narrow-minded society doesn't realize that American Indian students need their educations to be tailored to them in a way that's consistent with their culture's values and beliefs.
Also, because each tribe's culture is distinctly different, it's important not to lump all American Indians into the same category and assume that they all have the same needs.
Students who aren't American Indians can help this cause by becoming more open-minded. You probably have an American Indian student in at least one of your classes. Why not talk to them about their culture? There's no reason why Americans should continue to be ignorant when a plethora of resources exist all around us to help us become informed.
And no, the primer about the Indians and Christopher Columbus that we got in kindergarten doesn't count.
