You felt like you were on an island without a strong community to prop you up. Has that changed since you’ve been here? Day: Now, I’m a senior and I don’t live on campus. I spend most of my time at my house, and I just do my homework there with my dog. I have my partner, and I guess I’ve just built a better relationship with her and her roommates, who have given me that support I was looking for. They know who I am and everything I’ve had to deal with. It’s like having the support of a family. I still feel like I don’t fit. In my lecture classes, it’ll often be me and maybe one other person of color. They say Iowa City is the most liberal and diverse city in the area—but when I came here, I didn’t see that. When I talk about my identity, I say I’m Mexican. I’m proud of my heritage. It’s a struggle because a lot of people say, “But you’re American. You’re here.” And I’m like, “I’m from Mexico. So I’m Mexican.” There is a disconnect between my identity and how society wants me to identify myself.
What advice would you give to your freshman self?
Day: It may seem cliché, but I would say to her, “You got this. You made it this far.” If someone identified similarly to me, I might warn them, “Hey, it’s not looking good out there. You just have to really work hard to get what you want.” But also: “You can power through it. You can do it like I’m doing it.” I don’t know how I even did it, but I pushed through. I held onto this American Dream fantasy; my parents didn’t come here for nothing. I have to push through for their sacrifice. What made you want to enroll at Iowa? Day: I wanted that full college experience—like you would see on a television show. I wanted that. I wanted to be American so badly. I was like, “If I go to college then I’m fitting into American values.” Do you still feel that way? Day: No, no. I love the way I am. I’m so different, and I feel like I have been able to teach so many people that I’ve met, more about how society is. I just learned to love myself and all of my experiences. Someday when I have kids, I’m going to be able to tell them, “Yeah, your mom did it, and you can do it too. Just be your authentic self.” And they will have the advantage of my experience, too. What support from CLAS added to your success? Day: I’ve been able to create relationships with my professors—School of Social Work professors—who have pushed me to be my better self, as an individual and in the profession. Mentor-wise, they have really helped me.
Would you say there’s been a greater conversation about DEI? Do you think we’re actually having more difficult conversations within the College? Or do you think that’s really still not happening? Day: I do know that there have been a lot of DEI committees being created. I’ve had a lot of people come to me for my opinions on things. There are also issues that are not being given proper attention. The university might put out two sentences or an announcement about it, and it’s never brought up again. I feel like the university is trying to keep the students at ease. A lot of students are very passionate and want more action done, but the university responds by giving them a small piece of closure or comfort and then not doing what is needed. How do you see us navigating as an institution in the climate that is walking a thin political line at all times? Do you feel that it is creating an openness to diversity of views? Or do you think that it’s actually forcing people like you to retreat and have more fear? Day: Just a couple of years ago, a student organization on campus put up a big banner saying “Build the Wall.” And a lot of students, including me, were very much caught off guard. The group said they were not trying to cause harm, that they were just trying to have these conversations. But it was harmful. When I saw that, I didn’t feel safe. I felt racially attacked. You don’t want to feel that way on your university campus.
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