Entomologists of Color entopoc.org

[exoticimports]

Hi all,

In reading LepSoc News (Winter 2020) it caught my eye that there's a society Entomologists of Color, entopoc.org which promotes inclusion of "people of color" in entomology. No surprise, Chris Grinter is involved.

Here's a few things I found interesting on the website:

1. The number of black PhDs and grad students. I've NEVER run into a black entomologist in USA, not in unis, museums, etc. Good to see.

2. That this arose partly because of the shutdownSTEM movement, a truly stupid thing, so I presume entopoc is to counter such stupidity, and include POC. Makes sense!

3. Latinos are considered POC. I suppose, though many I know are lighter than me. If this is a global organization, I wonder what the South Americans think about being POC!

4. According to the website, NSF reports that entomology grad students are 2.3% black, and 0.17% Pacific Islander. OK, I know this has to be for USA, but I gotta laugh. Because in PNG, in Bougainville, in Solomons, almost 100% of entomologists (grad students, temporarily assign natural resources researchers, or other) are "black" and also Pacific Islander. I'll have to ask my Pacific friends, I'll probably get some quip about the dark people of Choisul and the "light" people of Malaita, or have to sit through yet another argument about who's darker, Bougainvilleans or Western Province people, both who always are vying for that position.

5. Now, if we look at University of South Pacific (based in Fiji, but with campuses throughout SoPac) a vast majority of the students are non-European. If USA has a deficit of black (skinned) and Pacific students in USA, why not sponsor them? Are there no provisions for SoPac students, heck there are for almost every other race.

I think I'm going to swing them a few bucks. Anyone have any interface/ experience with EntoPOC?


Thanks,

Chuck

[gaspipe]

As long as it’s a pure merit based system it would be great.

[jshuey]

Nov 3, 2021 7:00:51 GMT -8 gaspipe said:

As long as it’s a pure merit based system it would be great.

That's the thing minorities are battling in fields such as this. The quick implication that somehow, merit goes out the window. As a white male - I can't tell you how many breaks I've received in my career because I'm white, and I'm a male. But the minute we start talking about minority recruitment, worries about "merit" come into play.

John

[exoticimports]

I'm not sure if gaspipe was referring to the organization, or my suggestion that SoPac entomologists be subsidized for education in USA.

Clearly, the requirements (merits) of membership are spelled out. It matters not whether the member pays, or someone else pays. So I presume that's not the issue.

In a perfect world, merit would be 100% the determining factor for all manner of earned elements. We do not live in a perfect world- certainly not a perfect country, in fact it's a train wreck. Taking away biases and ethics and such, and looking at things logically, we can trace back from where we are to discover how we got here, it's not that hard.

From a purely logic and reason perspective, we have untapped human resources, resources we are squandering. Both US political parties are equally responsible, so I don't want to get into that morass. The question is how to maximize those human resources, that's all I care about. To do so, merit alone doesn't work; it's like having a 200m foot race, but some people have to start 20m back. I really don't care what's fair, or unfair, I simply want to maximize resources. So what we tried was to move some people 20m AHEAD of the start line; the results have been demonstrated to be more optics than long-term improvement. What we need to do is get everyone on the same starting line, and equally prepared to run, which evidence shows, our leaders truly are not interested in doing.

Now, if an organization exists for POC, I think that's great for a number of reasons. I get tired of working with people like John (old white men, I mean, not people from the midwest.) The members gain greater integration, and hopefully will pull other POC with them. Again, from a logic perspective, it would be better and safer to show up in some remote African village with a black person; it's just the way it is since we're pre-programmed (well, and taught) to mistrust people who are different. You want to go to remote Africa with a black entomologist? Better find a way to make more of them.

On that same token- want to go collecting in India, Brazilian rain forest, or Bougainville? We've had these conversations before- No you won't get permits, no you won't be welcome, and in the latter case you show up in Bougainville you might get dead. Now, if we had in USA entomologists from those areas- with family in those areas- all of a sudden permits get a lot closer. I'd like to see more SoPac entomologists personally, but to get them into Cornell on merit won't work since they've never seen a textbook, and have internet like once a week; so we need a way to give them "unmerited" assistance. Call it an investment.

Chuck