And now, diversity comes for the geosciences. Let’s be honest. It was only a matter of time before someone decided that the study of geology was not woke enough. To be honest, I am surprised that it took this long. If I remember my college days correctly, the English, sociology, arts, and philosophy/religion professors all pretty much leaned to the left. The business and econ professors were conservatives. The science professors? Well, back in the Stone Ages, when I was an undergrad, those profs didn’t seem to care one way or another about social issues. They were interested in, well, science. That included the professor in my Geology 101 class. I did not need Geology 101 for my major, but I had to take a science class, ostensibly to receive a well-rounded education. In reality, the college wanted to squeeze as much money out of me as possible. But that is another story for another time.
In 21st-century academia, DEI must be incorporated into everything, including disciplines with which it has nothing to do, such as geosciences. The College Fix notes that Willa Rowan of Western Washington University surveyed 139 college seniors, which involved recruiting students from other universities. This research was for Rowan’s master’s thesis entitled “A Mixed-Methods Study of Geoscience Identity, Race/Ethnicity, and Gender in Senior Undergraduate Geoscience Majors.” The paper was submitted in August of this year. The Fix had several quotes from the thesis, such as: “BIPOC students in geoscience face discrimination and barriers to learning at all levels, from microaggressions to systemic racism.” She found that white people were overrepresented in the field and “had stronger geoscience identities than BIPOC male students, with much of the difference concentrated in the performance/competence domain of geoscience identity.” She also stated that white students “had stronger geoscience identities than BIPOC male students, with much of the difference concentrated in the performance/competence domain of geoscience identity.” Rowan also asserted that “BIPOC students, especially female and non-binary students, were more likely to report struggles with mental health and feelings of inadequacy.” This is geology we’re talking about here. I felt inadequate in my geology class, too. But that was because I was majoring in religion. I’m not a science person.
In some cases, students were hung up on the fact that geology studies did not highlight indigenous cultures:
The lack of inclusion of Indigenous knowledge and place names in geoscience courses was othering to students, particularly those from Indigenous cultures: “It is insulting sometimes that we are studying the land of my ancestors and its never mentioned who lived in the national parks or owned them before people put a fence and a plaque on ol’ faithful”, “Sometimes I see people pull up pictures of places and landforms that are from my reservation and they don’t even mention how my people have 20,000+ years of history in the area”. (sic)
Okay, that problem is for the history department. Maybe anthropology, possibly archeology. Or whatever government agency is going around naming places. This issue has nothing to do with geology.
The paper outlines some complaints that appear to have nothing to do with DEI problems at all:
Bad experiences that students had in the field that turned them away from geoscience were also attributed to this theme: “Only [considered leaving the major] once during the field structural class. The professor made the experience awful”, “Field experience was only negative because of [instructor]”, “I felt incompetent in the field. The projects after the fieldwork also brought me a lot of stress”.
Several students reported considering leaving the geoscience major because they struggled with academics in their geoscience degree programs. Some issues arose from available courses in the students’ interests or chosen sub-field: “My department did not support me and my major because it was not ‘traditional’ geology”, “Sometimes it’s hard to enroll because there isn’t (sic) professors to teach the subjects, so I feel that I’m losing out”. Other issues came from degree requirements or required geoscience courses: “My university’s program is too rigid”, “Courses are too rock heavy”, “Mineralogy. That should answer it”. (sic)
If memory serves, students review professors at the end of courses. And if a student feels a professor or instructor is sub-par, they can always take it up with the administration. And as far as a student’s field or subfield, there is no shortage of schools that will be happy to take their money. Maybe they should try finding a school with a program that suits their needs. Other than that, it sounds like students are upset because “science is hard.” And as far as courses being too “rock heavy”? It’s geology, for crying out loud. What exactly do people think the courses will cover? Women’s studies? Or is that “Womyn’s studeezx”? What’s next? Will professors need to ask geologic formations about their preferred pronouns? If a student decides that they identify as an igneous rock, do they get extra credit or go straight to their Ph.D.?
Related: Fighting Woke
In her thesis, Rowan offered the following recommendations:
Listen to BIPOC students, and hold perpetrators of discrimination accountable
Make geoscience curricula and course experiences equitable and inclusive
Increase and improve recruitment and mentoring of BIPOC faculty
(sic)
The sciences are the sciences. Science has no opinion on race, gender, or any other human characteristics, particularly when it comes to the field of geology. If, on the other hand, a professor or teaching assistant is racist or acts in a discriminatory manner, then the issue is indeed a matter for the department chair and the administration. Rocks aren’t racist. As far as BIPOC faculty, it’s up to a person what field they wish to pursue. If a BIPOC person qualifies as a geology professor, then by all means they should join the faculty. And maybe there aren’t many BIPOC students interested in geology. And why should they be? With colleges doing everything they can to keep students navel-gazing over race and gender, who in the hell has time for science?
This does not sound like an honest concern about discriminatory geology. This sounds more like another would-be academic with an axe to grind who thought, “Hmm. Nobody’s kneecapped any geology departments for violating DEI standards. This could be the moment I’ve been waiting for. Fame and accolades await! To the Wokemobile!” The tragedy is that the effort to enforce diversity in geology will have the same effect on all students, BIPOC and otherwise, as it has on other disciplines. Students will learn all about grievances and little, if anything, about the science of geology.
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