On sending our gay students to Russia - or other diverse groups for that matter

[B. Amarilis Lugo de Fabritz]

Dear all,
I read Professor Borenstein's blog on sending gay students to Russia. I 
am thankful for his thoughtful remarks on a superbly complicated topic. 
I was struck by his closing remarks.

" But we should make sure our students have as much information as 
possible, and let them know that visibility can bring vulnerability 
(especially to gay men, who are the primary target of a campaign that is 
so clearly connected to anxieties about “manliness”). We cannot make 
decisions for our students, but if the profession does not address the 
issue publicly and carefully, then we have failed in our responsibility."

I am a Puerto Rican, and I teach Russian at Howard University, a 
Historically Black University. If anyone has had a chance to work with 
issues of visibility and vulnerability when studying in Russia, I think 
I can claim one of the first spots in that line. I have had students go 
to Russia for three of the years I have worked at Howard -- one as a 
teaching Fulbright in Omsk, the other two through the CIEE program. I am 
curious this fall, as I will have my first African-American male student 
return -- all my other students there have been women until now. I 
myself worked hard to blend in as an American -- read U. S., not Latin 
American -- student in Leningrad when I was there in '88.

Dealing with personal markers that cannot be erased -- be it race, 
gender or sexual orientation -- is one of the main challenges I think we 
face as educators. It is one of the greatest challenges I have 
attracting students to Russian language and study abroad in Russia at 
Howard -- why go to freezing Petersburg when you can study in summery 
Brazil? During carnaval season? Where you have a big and visible 
community of African descent?

In one way, Russia has made the issue of tolerance -- or lack thereof -- 
for our study abroad students -- a lot more visible. In a way, I thank 
them for that. For better or for worse, it also forces us to face the 
fact that some of us have to do what is called "disimular" in Spanish - 
to dis-emulate our identities. As a Latina in WASP country in high 
school, again and again I was told of the need to "disimular." Sad but 
true, sometimes that is the only answer we can give our students. But a 
lot can be gained from that. It sharpens your powers of cultural 
observation our of necessity, makes your keep your head screwed right at 
all times, and brings you back as a sharper thinker.

The clear elephant in the room is the failure to "disimular" can result 
is serious physical and/or legal damage. And that gets really old on 
month three of a four month stay in Russia.

The only answer I have for my students when they are abroad is to pray 
and pray hard that I have picked a good program, and that the program is 
extra careful picking out the families for my students. My girls so far 
have found the stay with the families thoroughly enriching. I also 
insist they go to an intensive summer study program -- their program of 
choice so far has been Middlebury. Going over knowing two or three faces 
goes a long way in easing the adjustment. It also means they can develop 
safety networks -- hopefully their classmates will be aware enough to 
know when absence means trouble.

And yes, some days I wish I had been a Spanish major and gone to 
Barcelona for study abroad, like my other friends did. But that would be 
easy. And I can truly say that my students find Russian interesting, 
enriching, but d morefinitely never easy.

I had my two girls that went together to Petersburg graduate as my first 
majors this last May. One of my student's parents, who visited her while 
she was there (big change! My parents could not do that when I was there 
in '88) came up to me and told me how the experience so enriched their 
daughter's life. Yeah, not to be hyperbolic, but I did tear up.

Yes, it can be a lot more lonely at times than for a more traditional 
student. Maybe a topic of a round table at ASEEES?

Regards
Amarilis Lugo de Fabritz
Lecturer, Russian, Howard University


On 8/7/2013 5:22 PM, Moss, Kevin M. wrote:
> A thoughtful post from Eliot Borenstein on sending gay students to Russia in the current climate has been making the rounds on Facebook:e ot
>
> http://jordanrussiacenter.org/news/sending-our-gay-students-to-russia/
>
> I've already had some discussions with our Middlebury students about this. I can certainly understand their concern.
>
> Some of my colleagues also wonder if we now should check IDs if we give a university lecture on LGBT topics. I've certainly given lectures there in which I did not point out that same sex relationships and families are inferior to heterosexual ones. That would appear to be a direct violation of the law if any 17 year olds were present.
>
> Kevin Moss
> Jean Thomson Fulton Professor of Modern Languages&  Literature
> Middlebury College
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