By Jacob Lockett, emerging author, Pennsylvania.

Roshni finished making her costume at five o’clock on Halloween night. Happy with her work, she ran downstairs.

“What do you think, Mama?” she asked. “I’m a khargosh.”

Mama turned from the stove, where she was cooking. “Wow!” she said. “You’re such a cute little bunny!”

Roshni giggled. “A cute little bunny that can jump really high!” she said, hopping around the room on spring shoes she had made herself.

Mama handed Roshni a pumpkin-shaped bucket. “Ready to trick-or-treat at school tonight?”

“Yep,” Roshni said. “I love getting candy!”

“Remember, you have time to go trick-or-treating at just one or two houses before going to school,” Mama said. “And I want you back by dinner.”

Roshni nodded excitedly.

Mama hugged her. “Get hopping. Halloween comes only once a year!”

With a spring in her step, Roshni bounced out the door and into the cool night air, her large bunny ears flopping this way and that. Kids ran around the street, dressed in fun costumes.

As Roshni hopped to school, she looked around her neighborhood, deciding which house to go trick-or-treating. A house with a ramp and a brightly lit pumpkin by the door caught her eyes. She remembered Mama telling her that a new family had moved in recently.

Curious to see what her new neighbors were like, she went over to the house and rang the bell.

The door opened.

“Trick or treat!” Roshni shouted.

A boy in a wheelchair appeared, a candy bowl sitting in his lap.

Roshni recognized him. He was DeAndre Lewis, the new kid at her school. He was in a different grade than Roshni, but she sometimes saw him in the hallway. He always seemed… lonely.

She waved. “Do you remember me from school? I’m Roshni.”

“Sure. I do remember,” DeAndre said, smiling. He rummaged around in the bowl, giving Roshni a Nougat Rocket Bar. “Super costume!”

Roshni blushed. “Thanks! I’m a khargosh—that’s the Hindi word for bunny.”

“That’s really cool,” he said.

“So, are you trick-or-treating?” Roshni asked.

DeAndre shook his head sadly. “My mom’s too sick with a cold to take me out tonight.”

Roshni gasped. She couldn’t imagine not going trick-or-treating. She looked at DeAndre’s sad face, and Mama’s words came back to her: Halloween comes only once a year…

“I can take you trick-or-treating,” she offered.

DeAndre’s eyes shone with hope. “Really? That would be wonderful! I’ll go ask Mom.”

DeAndre returned to the door with Mrs. Lewis. “You must be Roshni,” she said, sniffling. “Your mother told me so much about you at the store last week. DeAndre said you want to take him trick-or-treating with you.”

Roshni explained about their school’s Trick-or-Treat Fair and how there would be lots of treats, games, and contests for DeAndre to enjoy.

“Sounds like a good time!” Mrs. Lewis said. She turned to DeAndre. “Get your costume, honey. You can go have some Halloween fun with Roshni tonight.”

DeAndre’s face lit up just like the jack-o’-lantern that sat outside his door. He turned around and disappeared. He soon came outside wearing a superhero’s mask and a long cape.

“DeAndre, I want you back by seven,” Mrs. Lewis said. “Now, go have fun.”

The kharagosh and the superhero went off into the moonlit night. In no time at all, they arrived outside the school, which was covered with Halloween decorations. After DeAndre wheeled himself up the long entrance ramp, he and Roshni entered the cafeteria to the sound of spooky music and laughter.

They went around to different booths, collecting delicious treats from their teachers.

As Mrs. Garcia handed the kids each a pack of Licorice Lassos, DeAndre asked Roshni, “What are your favorite sweets?”

“I have so many!” she replied. “But I think my favorite would have to be galub jamuns. I make them with Mama for special occasions. They’re kinda like spongy—”

“Donut holes!” DeAndre finished.

“How did you know?” Roshni asked, surprised.

“I had one during Multicultural Day at my old school,” DeAndre explained. “It was one of the best things I’ve ever tasted. I make them with my mom now, too!”

They laughed, high-fiving.

After they were done trick-or-treating, Roshni entered the costume contest. After Roshni and the other contestants had displayed their outfits for the judges, Principal Jackson cleared his throat near the microphone. “And, the first prize goes to Roshni Kaur with her homemade bunny costume! Come on up!”

“Way to go!” DeAndre cheered loudly from the audience as Roshni hopped on stage to receive her blue ribbon.

DeAndre pointed at the haunted house in the corner of the cafeteria. “Let’s go in there.”

Roshni shivered. “I don’t know…”

“Have no fear!” DeAndre shouted, striking a pose. “I’ll protect you!”

“Ok,” Roshni said. “As long as you protect me, I won’t get scared.”

They went into the haunted house. Kids dressed as monsters jumped out from the shadows to try to frighten them. But every time they did, DeAndre would boom, “Back, you villains!” in his superhero voice. Roshni couldn’t stop smiling. Because of DeAndre, she didn’t get scared, not even once.

After they bobbed for apples, they sat at the snack table and drank pumpkin punch and talked about their favorite scary movies. All of Roshni’s favorites were DeAndre’s favorites, too!

Soon, Roshni checked her watch. She felt her heart drop. “It’s almost seven,” she said glumly. “Time for us to go home.”

“Aw,” DeAndre moaned, shaking his head sadly. “Do we have to?”

DeAndre guided his wheelchair down the school’s ramp and onto the sidewalk. He looked up at Roshni. “Thanks for taking me. I had a blast!”

“Sure,” she replied, swinging her bucket of candy as she hopped. “Halloween comes only once a year!”

“Do you… want to trade candy tomorrow?” he asked.

“Yes, we can do it at my house,” Roshni replied. “You can help me make gulab jamuns when we’re done at my home. Mama would love it.”

DeAndre giggled. “Great. But… don’t you only make gulab jamuns for special occasions?”

Roshni blushed. “I do,” she replied. “But you’re the special occasion.”

Now DeAndre was blushing, too!

On that Halloween night, Roshni had collected many sweet treats. But the sweetest one she had received was a new friend, DeAndre.

By Jacob Lockett, emerging author, Pennsylvania.

Over the past few years, there has been a growing consensus that in many western countries like the United States, the earth sciences and the environmental movement have a severe lack of diversity, both in terms of students studying these fields academically, and in the workforce. According to the National Science Foundation, African Americans, Native Americans, and Hispanics make up just about 14% of earth science undergraduate majors, even though they comprised more than 30% of the overall US population at the time of the study. This disparity continues as students enter the workforce. For example, African Americans make up 14.2% of the overall US population, but only 1.3% of geologists are black. When many people think of a geologist, they often picture an older white male roaming around the mountains. Based on Bureau of Labor statistics (74.9% of geologists are male), this image is actually often on point. Clearly these earth science related fields have a serious problem with diversity, and as a minority who worked and studied in the earth sciences for number of years, I have seen the unfortunate consequences this issue has had.

There are several reasons why it is essential to have more diversity in the earth and environmental sciences. Many environmental issues and natural hazards, from factory pollution to hurricanes, disproportionately affect minority communities. The devastation after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 is a prime example of this, when there was particular damage to black-majority neighborhoods in New Orleans. Black communities and other minority groups in the United States often live closer to large polluting chemical plants, waste treatment facilities, and other areas that are potential environmental hazards. Since people who work in environmental fields often make decisions regarding these kinds of environmental issues, it is essential to have representation from minority communities, especially if they are disproportionately affected by them.

Many teachers and professors may recognize this issue, but often approach it in the wrong way. They may think that simply showing minority students why fields like environmental science or geology are worthwhile, is enough to convince them to pursue these fields in their careers. In reality, diversifying these fields and their respective workforce takes a much more nuanced and systematic approach.

In both of my colleges and the university, all of my geology professors were white, but the larger issue was that they did not understand what is was like to be a minority student. Many professors are simply not aware of the obstacles minorities need to overcome, such racial bias in job hiring, or social exclusion in the outdoors. White, affluent professors likely have different upbringings than most minority students, and as a result, the differing perspectives may result in friction if a professor expects a minority student to learn and perform in the same way that he or she did as a student.

In reality, minority students face a multitude of obstacles, and even if they are extremely smart and hard-working, they may have different priorities than the professors did when those professors were in school. Partly because my parents did not grow up in the United States, they were not able to provide me with the same level of financial education as many other parents provide. However, when I tried to take a financial literacy class to learn these subjects myself, my academic advisor did not sign off on it, because she wanted me to focus on a geophysics class that would “be more relevant for my thesis.” She might have gotten education on financial literacy from her relatives when she grew up, because they had lived in this country for generations and knew the in’s and out’s of U.S. tax system, buying houses, etc., but I did not learn that at home. This is just another example of how many minorities— especially first generation minorities, in this case—are at a disadvantage compared to their peers.

This can be the case in many academic fields but the lack of diversity among the people teaching earth sciences stands out, because it means almost none of the professors have the same experiences as the minority students they teach. At least in other fields, like physics or computer science, there may be a more diverse faculty who understands what it is like to be a minority student.

There was even a time when one of my geology professors taught us how a mineral called orthoclase, which has a whitish-pink hue, “was the color of our skin,” because it was similar to the skin color of Caucasian people. Implying that we should refer to mineral color based on the skin color of white people creates a Caucasian-centric method of analyzing geologic features, and unfortunately many geology textbooks use these types of references.

In order to solve the diversity issue, it is essential to understand the structural factors that have historically led many minorities away from environmental sciences and even the outdoors in general. Many young people who end up studying or working in the environmental field become interested in the outdoors from an early age. Sometimes they do this by practicing sports like skiing, rock climbing, or mountain biking, to name a few. Some of these sports require a lot of out of pocket expenses. Rock climbing, for example requires harnesses, ropes, carabiners, helmets, and climbing shoes, which all add up in cost. People in lower socioeconomic classes often don’t have the extra funds to pay for this kind of gear, and many (but not all) minority groups unfortunately tend to have fewer resources. Thus being able to frequently enjoy the outdoors may be a luxury for some.

So how can we address this lack of diversity? One solution is for elementary, middle, and high schools to help kids gain an appreciation for the outdoors by taking them on field trips to nearby outdoor sites, hiking trails, etc., to ensure students from all backgrounds get to experience the outdoors and have the desire to protect these lands. True, schools often lack the funds to even fully fund their regular activities, so adding outdoor opportunities to the curriculum may be more difficult. Some private efforts exist to encourage minorities to explore the outdoors through group outings, but these efforts often have limited reach.

It seems that the best way to encourage minorities to study and work in the environmental sciences is to change the culture around these fields and the outdoors. This starts with every person who regularly enjoys the outdoors or the environmental sciences. For example, if you go on hikes regularly and have friends who haven’t had the opportunities to, maybe ask them if they want to come with you. If you’re a professor, continue to understand how your students have different backgrounds than you, and how that might shift their priorities. Small acts like these can build up in making the outdoors a more inclusive space, and doing this may have a far greater effort than just academic outreach.

—Skipping Stones Staff

References:

https://www.zippia.com/geologist-jobs/demographics/

https://www.americangeosciences.org/geoscience-currents/diversity-geosciences