Joy Lim – Race & Racism at the University of Richmond

This Week in the Archive: The Women’s Liberation Movement at UR

Irina Rogova Uncategorized September 25, 2019August 23, 2019A&S Summer Fellows 2019, Joy Lim, This Week in the Archive

by Joy Lim

Joy Lim is a Sophomore from Dallas, Texas majoring in Rhetoric/Communication Studies + Sociology and minoring in Anthropology. She is involved in the Westhampton College Government Association (WCGA), Alpha Phi Omega (APO), Delta Gamma (DG), Korean American Student Association (KASA), YouthLife, and is a mentor in the Peer Advisors and Mentors program (PAM). This is her first year working with the Race & Racism Project but she is interested in continuing this work in the future. She hopes to explore social justice issues not just on the University of Richmond campus but around the world as she continues her studies.

Westhampton and Richmond College students were questioned on their opinions surrounding the topic of the Women’s Liberation Movement in 1971. A variety of opinions were shared by University of Richmond students and a wide range of them were ridiculous. Opinions such as “I’d hate to fix my own flat tires!” to “I like the traditional male courtesy” were expressed by students of Westhampton College in response to the “radical” practices of feminists of that time. The students’ responses show an astonishing lack of care and compassion towards women around the world, much less themselves. The patriarchal environments in which these individuals grew up are clearly reflected within terms such as “traditional male courtesy” and “fixing their own tires.” The belief that men are solely responsible for the maintenance of cars and the perseverance of courtesy is laughable in July 2019. Yet the stereotypes placed on men and women were a source of tradition and social norms for the students at the University of Richmond due to the majority of students who came from conservative households.

Dinosaur Kingdom

Irina Rogova Uncategorized September 2, 2019August 22, 2019A&S Summer Fellows 2019, Joy Lim, Site Visit

by Joy Lim

Dinosaur Kingdom was a site visit that took me by complete surprise. The initial shock came at the entrance of the park because it was located right off the side of the highway across the street from some type of zoo. Compared to the zoo, Dinosaur Kingdom had far less visitors and was surrounded by a large wooden fence that made it seem like a fortress of some kind. This fence obstructs everyone’s view to the inside and really leaves you wondering what could be behind such an interesting entrance. The park, in general, seemed rather empty and run-down right from the start, which allowed me to form an initial judgement about the site. Prior to visiting, all that I knew about the site was that it was related to the confederacy and somehow, dinosaurs were involved.

Reflection on the Arthur Ashe Monument

Irina Rogova Uncategorized July 25, 2019July 16, 2019A&S Summer Fellows 2019, Joy Lim, Site Visit

by Joy Lim

The most memorable monument that I visited was the Arthur Ashe monument located on Monument Avenue. Arthur Ashe was born in Richmond, Virginia and was the first African American man to be ranked as the number one tennis player in the world. As the monument resides in the middle of two streets, my friend and I parked further down the street, walked all the way to the left side of the monument, crossed the street, and approached the monument from the back. While walking down the street, we came across another statue just before the Arthur Ashe monument, which was quite disturbing. I had never seen the statue before and was alarmed at what I interpreted the statue to mean. Once I got home, I looked up the statue that we had seen and learned that it was a monument to Matthew Fontaine Maury, a Confederate naval officer. I was shocked at the statue’s imagery of tens of people struggling to lift up the world as a statue of Maury sits on a throne – of sorts – in front of them. After encountering this statue that glorified white privilege and entitlement, we came across the unpretentious monument of Arthur Ashe.

Delving into Greek Life

Irina Rogova Uncategorized June 27, 2019June 14, 2019A&S Summer Fellows 2019, Joy Lim

by Joy Lim

Since I already knew I wanted to research the topic of Greek Life, I continued further reading about race and racism within UR fraternities in hopes of finding more connections within Greek Life. In addition to re-exploring the exhibit on Racism in UR fraternities, I recently gained access to the University of Richmond’s online yearbooks. Historically white sororities started at the University of Richmond in 1987; knowing this date allows me to start my research in that time period. I plan to look through each yearbook starting from 1987 in order to find out what role race and racism played in the founding of sororities and their histories. I also will read through articles in The Collegian from the 1980s and 1990s in order to find more information on sorority history.

Greek Life in Regards to Race and Racism

Irina Rogova Uncategorized June 12, 2019May 31, 2019A&S Summer Fellows 2019, Joy Lim

by Joy Lim

Reading over the exhibit of Racism in UR Fraternities was incredibly intriguing to me, as someone who identifies as Korean American, lower class, and female. Before applying to the University of Richmond, I knew very little about campus culture and next to nothing about the social climate surrounding student life. Before setting foot on campus all I knew was that the 2019 edition of the Princeton Review ranked the University of Richmond as the 9th most segregated campus in the nation. I didn’t think much about this issue as I wasn’t quite sure what a “segregated” community would feel like. Growing up in Dallas, Texas, I was surrounded by a diverse community, and I had the capacity to experience my Korean culture through multiple different outlets. Moving to campus was a culture shock due to its lack of culturally expressive opportunities, a dominating white demographic, and an exclusive social atmosphere. However, I found that joining student government (Westhampton College Government Association, known as WCGA) as a first-year student was remarkably rewarding as I had the opportunity to listen to student concerns and witness changes happening on campus first hand.