Source: Cartoonstock
Looking at this image, I thought back to my research topic in the archives. I was researching the reactions and thoughts of the male SCU students when women arrived on campus in 1961. I also wanted to look at how that experience shaped Santa Clara into the university it is today.
Clearly, this photo is meant to be funny. The man in the comic is saying that no one will treat you differently based on how you look, however, looking at the other people in the photo, everyone looks the same. They also all happen to be white men. No diversity whatsoever.
So what does this mean to me?
Applying it to my research, this comic raises this question: has women’s equality truly changed since the 1960s? Or frankly, even equality among different races?
There’s always talk of men and women becoming more equal, whether it’s through pay or even respect. However, I feel that most of it is just talk. Sure, some things might actually be changing, but I still feel like minority groups are secluded and their struggles aren’t brought into the light enough. In some ways, I feel like we behave similar to people from the 1960s, except now there’s many ways to keep it hidden or anonymous through resources like social media.
The student newspaper that I found in the archives shows me how much we’ve changed socially as a society. You never hear people publicly talking about women or other races the same as the SCU newspaper from the 1960s. We know that it’s wrong and disrespectful. However, I believe that the language used in the newspapers helped to create SCU’s diversity program and values we see today. However, I don’t think the same can be said about the rest of the world.
It’s important to look at out past, no matter how horrible, in order to do better in the times to come. Here’s to a brighter and more equal future!