Three things I learned at the Privilege Race Conference
Ledger staff reporter Kim Tan reflects on her experience at Seattle University's undergraduate race conference.
Kim Tan
Issue date: 3/9/10 Section: Opinion
Eight UW Tacoma students travelled up to Seattle to attend the Privilege Race Conference on Feb. 27. Hosted by Seattle University, it was the second biannual regional undergraduate conference dedicated to exploring diverse experiences with race and gender.
The two-day conference gathered students from Puget Sound institutions such as University of Washington Seattle campus and Pacific Lutheran University. During this conference, eighty-seven participants shared their ideas and gained valuable skills to address diversity challenges on their campuses and in their communities.
Highlights of the conference included a race and gender caucus where students from various institutions discussed how race and gender inequalities affected them, three parallel breakout sessions dedicated to learning more about diversity, and a "Soup with Substance: Lunch with Community Activists" in which students had a chance to talk with activists from the local community.
As an attendee of this conference, I would like to share a few things I took away from it:
1.
From the breakout session called "Disrupting Silence: How to Effectively Speak Out about Racist Comments and Actions," I realized that it takes courage to speak out against racism when it occurs. Most people choose to simply not do anything and just ignore it. However, we must realize that racism and racist comments will not go away simply by being ignored. When one hears a racist comment, one needs to bravely speak out against it. It is good to ask open-ended questions such as "What did you mean by that?" or "I'm curious why you would say that?" Comments like these are less aggressive and can open a line of communication. A good thing to keep in mind is that if you do not inform the person that the comment made was offensive, who else is going to? As activist and poet Andre Lorde aptly comments, "When we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed. But when we are silent, we are still afraid. So it is better to speak."
The two-day conference gathered students from Puget Sound institutions such as University of Washington Seattle campus and Pacific Lutheran University. During this conference, eighty-seven participants shared their ideas and gained valuable skills to address diversity challenges on their campuses and in their communities.
Highlights of the conference included a race and gender caucus where students from various institutions discussed how race and gender inequalities affected them, three parallel breakout sessions dedicated to learning more about diversity, and a "Soup with Substance: Lunch with Community Activists" in which students had a chance to talk with activists from the local community.
As an attendee of this conference, I would like to share a few things I took away from it:
1.
From the breakout session called "Disrupting Silence: How to Effectively Speak Out about Racist Comments and Actions," I realized that it takes courage to speak out against racism when it occurs. Most people choose to simply not do anything and just ignore it. However, we must realize that racism and racist comments will not go away simply by being ignored. When one hears a racist comment, one needs to bravely speak out against it. It is good to ask open-ended questions such as "What did you mean by that?" or "I'm curious why you would say that?" Comments like these are less aggressive and can open a line of communication. A good thing to keep in mind is that if you do not inform the person that the comment made was offensive, who else is going to? As activist and poet Andre Lorde aptly comments, "When we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed. But when we are silent, we are still afraid. So it is better to speak."
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posted 3/17/10 @ 6:16 AM PST
I've learned so much more from it than just tree things! good job!
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