Smug looks & Microagressions

Last week I went on road trip with my students. We toured six different universities in four days all across the state of Texas. My students, of course, were wonderful with the last minute changes and walking around the heat of Texas. Each night we have a debriefing session with the students to talk about the universities they saw that day and talk about the differences between universities; what they liked, what they didn't like, things that most surprised them, types of people who attend... really just teaching them how to choose the correct college for them.

One time I was getting ready for a debriefing session in a meeting room for 15 minutes. Apparently a class was going to meet in that same room. Trying to be nice about using the space for 15 minutes, I asked what they were about to do in the class he was leading. His response was, "I'm helping students prepare for the GRE, you know, a test to get into graduate school." I replied nicely. Yes, I know about that. I took it before I started my doctorate some years ago. Then he looks at me even more smugly.

Now, I can understand being upset for me "encroaching" on your space, even though I was done with the room 7 minutes before the class started and even before his students were there for the class, but really. Why the need to be smug? Why did you think I didn't know what a GRE was? Was it because you thought I was young? (I had my hair in a ponytail) Was it because I a Black? Was it because I was with Black and Brown students? Was it because I am female?

That's the thing about microaggressions, you never really know in what way you're getting discriminated against.