On a dreary morning in May 1995, Paul found himself sitting on the floor of the hallway, crouched against the cold wall, feeling dejected and desperate. The bustling cacophony of the people in nearby offices seemed distant and surreal to him. Immobilized by his shock, Paul just sat there looking down at the floor. He wanted to rationalize the situation in an attempt to contain his despair, but so many thoughts were going through his mind that he soon became confused and unable to think clearly.

Paul

Paul was a junior at the Upland University and was finishing the last quarter of his third year. Paul was in his early twenties. He was Korean American; he had been born in Korea and had come to the United States when he was nine years old. He began his academic career as a biochemistry major, intending to become a doctor, but, having failed his organic chemistry series twice, he had to drop out of biochemistry and change his major in the middle of his sophomore year.

Paul was not only having problems with organic .chemistry, he was also struggling with many other classes in the biochemistry major. Paul was stuck in a cycle; the more poorly he performed in his classes, the harder it was to remain motivated to try. His dream of becoming a doctor was certainly slipping away. The problems compounded until he was placed on academic probation, and consequently, utterly crushed by his failure, he decided to take a leave of absence to clear his thoughts and reassess his career goals.

During the year that Paul took off from school, he struggled to accept his shortcomings, but this was not easy. The thoughts of his failure haunted him every day and hampered his courage to continue with his educational career because he was afraid that he would fail again. Ultimately, he decided to finish what he had begun, and he returned to school.

When Paul returned to school, his grade point average was 2. 7. At this point, he was very discouraged. However, he found when he changed his major to psychology, he performed well in the courses, and the subjects were much more to his liking. Paul received almost all A's after he changed his major and had brought up his G.P.A. to 3.6. He was ve1y excited about his newly found interest in psychology and wanted to pursue, to a deeper extent, social psychology.

Paul was assigned, just as other students had been, one academic advisor since his freshman year. From the very beginning, he sought Dr. Richard David's counsel, especially when he was having difficulty with his biochemistry major.

Dr. Richard David

Dr. David had been working for the Upland University as a principal academic advisor.

He had a Ph.D. and, in addition to being an academic advisor, he was also a professor at the university. Dr. David was an unmarried Caucasian man in his mid-forties. He had known Paul since his freshman year, and had met with him six times prior to the meeting in question.

The first couple of meetings Paul had with Dr. David were standard introductory consultation sessions. Dr. David was the consultant for each student's schedule and registration. Dr. David's first encounter with Paul was nothing more than standard and took less than 5 minutes. He asked if Paul had any difficulty choosing classes for his first quarter and, when Paul responded that he hadn't, the meeting was over.

The third and fourth meetings consisted of Dr. David consulting Paul about his difficulty with the organic chemistry series. Paul was required by the school to speak with his advisor regarding his academic standing. Unfortunately, there was no substantial advice given, except

that Paul needed to pass his organic chemistry classes in order to remain in the major. The conversation was professional and distant.

The last two meetings involved Paul's change of major from biochemistry to psychology.

The main reason for these meetings was to obtain consent from the academic advisor, and to confirm schedule changes for the following quarters. These meetings were still very formal. Nothing much was said between Dr. David and Paul. They were brief and to the point.

Paul's Meeting with Dr. David

Paul had met with Dr. David earlier that afternoon, seeking academic counseling and information regarding his career options. Paul entered the office, and Dr. David motioned for him to sit down. Paul chose a seat located to the right of Dr. David's desk. He was typing something, and the silence that permeated the room made the clicking of the keyboard seemed loud. After what felt like five minutes of silence and clicking, Dr. David finished typing. He asked in a loud and resounding voice, "So Paul, what do we need to talk about?" Paul was momentarily stunned by the loud coldness of Dr. David's voice, and paused to wonder what he could say to ease the tension. Feeling intimidated, Paul brought up the reason he had come into Dr. David's office. "I am a bit confused about what I want to do after I graduate, and I wanted to talk to you to find out if you could give me some ideas about what's out there."

Dr. David said nothing as he turned his chair around again to face his computer. Paul was feeling ignored, but soon realized that Dr. David was trying to bring up his student records. He asked, "What is your social security number?" After he got the number from Paul and punched it into the computer, he sat there looking at Paul's records, shaking his head from time to time, his eyebrows crunching to the center of his forehead, making a prominent wrinkle. He was tapping his long fingers on the table. Paul felt uncomfortable, as if he had come into an interview and was being judged, as if the computer screen had exposed something horrible to its viewer.

Silence fell over the room again. At this point, Dr. David turned his chair to face Paul and asked, "What would you like to do with yourself, I mean, after you graduate?" Paul thought, "That's what I just asked you," but did not verbalize this thought. Paul still felt very intimidated by Dr. David's loud voice, the way he accentuated every syllable with his lips, the way he sat in his chair with his arms and legs crossed, and how he looked at Paul without blinking. However, Paul's frustration overcame his intimidation, and he told Dr. David about his interest to study further in graduate school.

Dr. David looked at Paul condescendingly; his eyes seemed to become bigger, as if he was surprised. He untangled his arms from his chest and moved them to the back of his head, and for a moment, Paul saw a very awkward, one-sided smirk on his face. Dr. David asked Paul where he would possibly like to go and for what. "Well, I have an interest in psychology, and I would like to pursue that field further, possibly social psychology. I was hoping to go to school somewhere in southern California." Dr. David looked at his watch, and didn't seem to have heard what Paul had said. He finally looked at Paul and said, "Well, then that's what you should do. Did you have anything else to ask me?" Paul felt outraged, but said nothing more. "Who am I kidding?" Paul silently asked himself, "I'm not getting anywhere with this guy."

After he had finished his consultation and left the office, he realized that he had forgotten his cap, so he returned to retrieve it. Dr. David was consulting another student, so Paul decided to wait outside in the hallway until the consultation was finished.

His door was open, but probably neither Dr. David nor the student realized that Paul was outside waiting. Paul did not want to disturb them, so he sat quietly outside. He could hear their conversation clearly, and could not help but listen to the exchange between Dr. David and the student. The consultation had just started, and Dr. David asked the female student, "What can I help you with today?" She paused for a moment and answered, "I am thinking about going to graduate school, and I hope that you can help me consider my options."

Dr. David was very talkative. The young woman had very little to say, except for occasional "yes's" and "no's." Dr. David talked almost incessantly, while he shared with her the various fields she could pursue, and potential careers available after graduate school. He told her about the different schools available, academic programs, and campus life. He also shared with her his personal experience as a student on one of those campuses.

Comparing his earlier conversation with Dr. David and the conversation unfolding before him, Paul was confused. He could not verbalize his thoughts and emotions, but he knew he had been treated differently and was ultimately wronged.

After the consultation of over 30 minutes, the student apparently stood up to leave. As she was leaving, Dr. David said, "If you feel that you need more assistance, and I can help you further, you can call me at home. Here's my number," and the meeting was finally over.

When the student walked out of Dr. David's office, Paul recognized her. They were both juniors, and she was majoring in psychology as well. As a transfer student from a junior college in northern California, she was finishing up her first year and a half at the university. She was Caucasian, in her early twenties.

Feeling that he had been discriminated against, Paul walked into Dr. David's office. He wanted to confront the advisor, but felt unable to do so. Paul awkwardly grabbed his hat and left. Realizing what just took place, Dr. David looked shocked and almost embarrassed, but hesitated to say anything.

What to Do?

The next day, Paul tried to think of the best way to deal with his strange predicament. He was more than disturbed. Paul had never been exposed to such an overt, yet subtle, act of discrimination. Without even trying, Paul's mind kept playing the scene over and over again. He was hurt, and he didn't want to see Dr. David ever again, least of all as his academic advisor. He wondered what his next steps should be.

1. How can Paul use equity to decide whether or not Dr. David discriminated against him?

2. Using attraction as a factor, how did Dr. David's behavior towards the female student differentiate from his behavior towards Paul?

3. What would you do if you were Paul?