Ned Irons oral history excerpt

Audio Transcript

Pamela Grundy (interviewer)

Did you have the stereotypes before you came here?

Ned Irons

Oh, yeah. And I think it wouldn't be accurate to say that there are people who are completely open minded and come to West Charlotte and don't have any stereotypes. Everybody's, "Oh, I love everybody, and I don't have any preconceived notions of how you're supposed to act." I think everybody, whether consciously or subconsciously, has preconceived notions of people before they meet them. West Charlotte just changed that for me. And, for me, I grew up in sort of a liberal household, so I don't think I had as many stereotypes as some of the people that I associated with when I came here. To see them now from when they were a sophomore, they have changed completely, and not through any intentional actions but just through speaking and communicating and being friends with people who aren't like them. I mean, it's hard to be friends with somebody and then to carry that stereotype onto somebody else, because you say, "It doesn't apply here, so how can I be sure that it applies to everyone I know?"

Pamela Grundy

How do you see that change?

Ned Irons

Mostly the way I see it is in the way people speak about each other. In sophomore year there's a lot of "they's" and "we's." And, “well, that's how they do it, and that's just how they are, that's how they speak.” And now it's, I think it’s individual more, "Oh, well he is a very bright kid," or "She speaks that way because of this." I think there's a lot more understanding of cultural backgrounds and socioeconomic backgrounds where you don't just put a label on it. I think you more grow to understand why something is the way it is, why behavior comes across the way it does.”