6 Out in the Mountains May 2000

  

BY KENDRA HENSON

Imagine sitting in your “Race and Culture” class at
the University of Vermont, waiting for your instructor
to arrive, when in walks an alien love child. You can’t
help but wonder which culture it is that you’ll be
learning about.

One of the Burlington queer community’s favorite
singer/songwriters made that little flight of imagina-
tion a reality. This past semester, Yolanda taught
freshmen at the University of Vermont what it’s like
to be aware and respectful of differences that exist in
our world.

The University of Vermont implemented the class
as part of a response to hate crimes and defamation on
the campus that had occurred a few years ago. 

“I saw pictures of the hateful graffiti that someone
scribed in the Living and Learning Center, and it was
just horrible,” said Yolanda. A i '

Immediately following the murder of Matthew
Shepard in 1998, Yolanda received an invitation to
lecture in a UVM course taught by Paij Wadley-
Bailey. When the university decided to expand the
course to include diversity issues such as sexism,
racism, and homophobia, it asked Yolanda to teach a
section of the “Race and Culture” course.

Wanting to really broaden the range of topics cov-
ered in the class, Yolanda invited folks from Genders
‘R Us to come and speak to students about what it
was like to be a transgender person.

“The students in the class really opened up a dis-
cussion with this group,” Yolanda said, “and seemed
to really try and understand what it was like to be in
their shoes.”

She also invite_diCh_ristine Leslie, the university’s

  Yolanda Is My co-Teacher

Protestant minister to lead a workshop on hate.
Students sat down with Christine to look at where
hate exists in the Bible and to break down a context
of what was written when, where, why, and by and
about whom.

According to Yolanda, some students in this class
were deeply offended and felt threatened by looking
at Christianity in a completely different context.
“Some of them felt like we were trying to destroy
Christiarfity,” she said, “and the room did get really

tense at certain points of the discussion. We continued

to talk about people who have different faiths and
how accepting one another for who we all are, as
humans, is what is really important.”

Along with discussing diversity with classroom
lecturers, the students also took on ‘cultural immer-
sion projects.’

“I had students choose a culture or sub-culture
completely different from anything they knew on
which to research and present,” said Yolanda. “One
group of girls interviewed the Japanese sushi chefs
that work at the new Price Chopper store. They even
learned how to make sushi and returned to teach the
rest of the class.”

Another student, whom Yolanda said seemed like a
typical white, heterosexual college male, did a pre-
sentation on Malcolm X. Others researched and pre-
sented on different religious cultures and one group
went to Boston and studied the graffiti sub-culture
many people have negative mindsets about.

“I was inspired by the students’ willingness to
stretch their boundaries. There were definitely some
sticky, uncomfortable discussions,” said Yolanda,

“but it was amazing to see how respectful they were
to the guests and to each other. It was a true safe space
where no one was criticized or belittled.” V

Yolanda performing at St. Albans Pride Benefit.

 

2-X-K Gold Ale:

c Coming Out Soon:
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1 0% of profits go to the Ltewis Endowment, supporting L631‘ social attic and education. 

(M2509