“Yeah, it’s a little different from home.” Then, boldly, I stated, “Yeah, it’s a little of a culture shock.” “See, I knew some people would feel this way, and that’s kind of why I set up this lunch, so we can all get to know each other, remember faces, and hang out. So does anyone have any specific experiences they would like to share or talk about?” Right away I thought that I could say something about my experience but instead I hesitated and said “Well…” but I never quite finished. I didn’t think it would affect people like it did me. Raymond responded quickly and asked, “What is it Meghan? What’s wrong?” I had a knot. “The other night, I came back from the powwow and saw a drawing on my neighbor’s whiteboard.” I didn’t think this should make me feel bad, but I did feel uncomfortable and I told them about the drawing. The accusations behind this issue were broad, and I think we all understood the discrimination behind the drawing. Raymond acted a little shocked by what I had to say; I don’t think he wanted us to have these kinds of experiences so soon. Dr. Reyes wanted me to feel comforted and to resolve the issue in correspondence with the messenger. He wanted the Unity Multicultural Education Center to hold a house meeting on cultural sensitivity and group building. I didn’t want this. I did not want more girls to be drawn to the subject of Native Americans and my issues with their drawings. Something about me and my culture solidified their thoughts of some cute, fun way of portraying an Indian. When the staff investigated the situation and interviewed the girl she only had to say “I thought it was just cute. I didn’t mean for it to be racist!” The University never did have a cultural
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