{"id":31910,"date":"2017-02-16T10:32:14","date_gmt":"2017-02-16T15:32:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=31910"},"modified":"2017-02-20T09:37:45","modified_gmt":"2017-02-20T14:37:45","slug":"bsu-sponsored-town-hall-race-convenes-campus-community-honest-conversation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2017\/bsu-sponsored-town-hall-race-convenes-campus-community-honest-conversation\/","title":{"rendered":"BSU-sponsored ‘Town Hall on Race’ convenes campus community for honest conversation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Participants at Eastern Mennonite University\u2019s second annual Town Hall on Race at Eastern Mennonite University Feb. 9 asked for more awareness about the role of race in relationship-building and interactive opportunities to build those relationships within the campus community.<\/p>\n

<\/a>
Black Student Union co-presidents Oksana Kittrell (left) and Tae Dews facilitated the two-hour event. Approximately 30 students, faculty and staff participated.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The 2-hour event was hosted by Black Student Union and facilitated by co-presidents Tae Dews and Oksana Kittrell. Approximately 30 participants represented a wide swath of campus constituents, including undergraduate and graduate students, and faculty and staff.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is to increase knowledge and awareness of how race impacts relationships, foster a sense of commitment, engage faith in the struggle against oppression, walk away with some concrete steps to help us work on this, and lastly, we want you to form relationships with people you may not know,” Dews said.<\/p>\n

Rapport was built, first with brief introductions within the group, followed by honest expressions about current comfort levels, and then sharing of personal awareness of race, one\u2019s own and others.<\/p>\n

Throughout the evening, the conversation was punctuated by shared laughter \u2014 a sign, Dews said later, that people were \u201ckeeping it real.\u201d This was a reference to the theme of the 2016 event, \u201cKeeping It Real,\u201d which aimed at fostering genuine conversation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think, from what I heard after each discussion time, that these were some pretty in-depth conversations,\u201d Dews said. \u201cThis was a different crowd from last year, more diverse and with more faculty involved. That is very important and I\u2019m really happy to see that step taken.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis conversation is important for the community and specifically for the kind of community EMU wants to be,\u201d Kittrell said. \u201cWe\u2019re really excited to see people\u2019s willingness to step away from their friends and meet other people. Talking about this topic means we have to build a safe space with people you are comfortable sharing your thoughts with, and I think this event helped people do that.”<\/p>\n

<\/a>
Oksana Kitrell, BSU co-president, is interviewed by a reporter from WHSV, which featured a segment on the event during their evening news.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Two 30-minute discussions moved participants through major themes of race and relationships on campus and the role of personal responsibility to foster and create relationships with others. A concluding section encouraged participants to think about concrete steps towards bridge-building.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some issues of concern that have affected relationship-building between races are a perception of being targeted and isolated in the residence halls; the effort it takes to \u201cget to know people outside the white Mennonite bubble\u201d; a general reluctance to address issues of race both by faculty and in the campus community; and the pressure of being an individual who is asked to represent or speak on behalf of a larger group of people.<\/p>\n

One white participant said her primarily white friend group recognizes their homogeneity and wants to interact with people of color, \u201cyet we don\u2019t want to force those connections.\u201d<\/p>\n

A discussion about personal responsibility led to several points being made about \u201chaving to be OK with being uncomfortable\u201d and \u201cbe uncomfortable together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Groups talked the possibilities of departments creating other opportunities to form relationships.<\/p>\n

\u201cJesus\u2019s vision is multi-cultural,\u201d one group reported. \u201cWe talked about a willingness to listen and learn and raise questions, making sure reasons for branching out are genuine.\u201d<\/p>\n

After one participant asked a question about internalizing racial hostility, Dews thanked her for the question and then\u00a0 humorously pointed out the sheer wealth of experience and knowledge present in the room.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a great question,” he said, to laughter in the audience, “and we have a couple of Center for Justice and Peacebuilding professors and graduate students and some sociology professors and over there is an education professor. I am sure they can help us out.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the end of the night, participants shared their hopes and goals, speaking to the question of \u201cWhat can the EMU community uphold you to?\u201d<\/p>\n

Faculty member Johonna Turner<\/a>, professor of restorative justice, urged student-participants to be willing to create \u201cspaces where people can meet and build bridges.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a real opportunity for student-led spaces,\u201d she said, \u201cand faculty can continue to support the agency and leadership of students to continue to create those spaces. There is a lot of agency on this campus for that kind of work.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Participants at Eastern Mennonite University\u2019s second annual Town Hall on Race at Eastern Mennonite University Feb. 9 asked for more awareness about the role of race in relationship-building and interactive ... read more about BSU-sponsored ‘Town Hall on Race’ convenes campus community for honest conversation<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31912,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[359,5589,5583,14715,17562,5594,8845,5593,356,14145,5601,5603,6287,4513,5147,12507],"tags":[16275,6795,16985],"feature":[17427,17423,17426,17241],"class_list":["post-31910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-applied-social-sciences","category-bible-and-religion","category-campus-community","category-campus-life","category-digest","category-education","category-emu-at-lancaster","category-intercultural","category-language-and-literature","category-peacebuilding-and-development","category-physical-education","category-psychology","category-social-work","category-student-life","category-theater","category-vaca","tag-celeste-thomas","tag-diversity","tag-johonna-turner","feature-emu-home-page-feature","feature-featured-undergrad","feature-myemu-feature","feature-news-feature"],"yoast_head":"\nBSU-sponsored 'Town Hall on Race' convenes campus community for honest conversation - 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