Out Group

Somebody mentioned to me 'in group virtue, out group vice' when I was complaining to them about how we're not treated as equals at the university. The sociological term basically refers to practices exercised by groups to which one doesn't belong as wrong, though overlooked or even thought of as right when practiced by one's own group. I don't think though that the term applies, at least not in this context. Do American universities remove the foreign teachers' air conditioners and install them in the domestic teachers' offices? Do we notify only the domestic teachers of events that affect all the classes? Do we schedule exams out of ordinary class time, during the foreign language classes without informing the teachers? Do we schedule staff meetings but exclude the foreign language teachers? Do we segregate the foreign teachers from the domestic ones? I think the answer to all of the above is no. Today was funny. I arrived to my afternoon class to the surprise of some of my lingering students. They told me that I was supposed to be at the meeting. I said, “Nope. They don't invite us to the teacher meetings.” “Porque? Eres maestro.” “Porque no nos quieren,” I told them. Half the class cringed, looked away, and nodded their heads like they'd just informed somebody that the game's rained out. A few others said outrightly, “si, cierto.” If there's a silver lining here though, I think it may be that the students get to have their perceptions changed when digesting the behavior of their elder countrymen.