MYFest - Five Belonging Conditions by

Whose Knowledge Counts

lanceeaton1 — 2026-06-27 17:26:19 UTC

The Condition: Institutions have implicit definitions of what counts as legitimate knowledge – which voices, which kinds of knowledge and experience, which ways of engaging are recognized as intellectually valid. Students whose knowledge comes from outside those definitions often find themselves translating rather than contributing.

Question: Where in your context might students feel that their knowledge, experience, or way of expressing themselves is not fully recognized as valid – and what might that be teaching them about what counts here?

Asking for Help

lanceeaton1 — 2026-06-27 17:26:19 UTC

The Condition: Asking for help requires revealing uncertainty, and in many academic environments that carries social cost. Students may choose silence over risk and reach for tools – including AI – where nothing they ask is remembered or judged.

Question: Where might students in your context experience confusion or uncertainty but feel the risk of revealing it to a person is too high – and what might they be calculating in that moment?

Navigating the System

lanceeaton1 — 2026-06-27 17:26:19 UTC

The Condition: Many institutions assume students arrive already fluent in how systems work – course sequencing, advising timelines, bureaucratic processes. Students who did not grow up around these systems often have to figure out how it works while they are living inside it.

Question: What processes or pathways in your context require students to figure things out on their own rather than making the route visible – and what does that invisibility signal to them?

Belonging vs. Admission

lanceeaton1 — 2026-06-27 17:26:19 UTC

The Condition: Admission is not belonging. Recruitment creates moments of recognition – students feel seen, welcomed, represented – that are not always sustained once students arrive. Belonging requires more than an open door.

Question: Where in your institution do students encounter people, knowledge, or experiences that reflect their realities – and where do they not? What becomes possible or impossible at those moments?

Voice & Difference

lanceeaton1 — 2026-06-27 17:26:19 UTC

The Condition: Students experience institutional spaces as places where the way they speak, write, or present themselves is evaluated as a measure of belonging – not just preparation. Voice difference gets read as deficit rather than as an asset.

Question: Where in your context might students feel that their voice, background, or way of seeing things is being evaluated rather than engaged – and what might that be telling them about whether they belong here?

What becomes visible?

lanceeaton1 — 2026-06-27 17:26:19 UTC

Two entry points – respond to either or both:

If AI sometimes feels lower-risk than office hours, what does that reveal about the environments we’ve built – in your specific context at AUC?

What becomes visible in conversations like this that usually remains difficult to see or say? What would it take for that visibility to last beyond the conversation itself?

(Recognition, complication, and alternative perspectives are all useful here – especially where the conditions feel different, incomplete, or unresolved in your context.)