A WISE man in a wise book once wrote, "Man has dominated man to his own injury." Though written over 3,000 years ago, humans have proved that we have not moved beyond this sad state. Hatred is still prevalent, commonly manifesting itself in the form of racism. Anyone who claims he does not possess any prejudices is not being fair to himself.
Because of these unfortunate, abundant human imperfections, we continue to discuss race relations. Sunday night provided one such opportunity for dialogue through the annual Reflections on Complexions forum. It is time for us as a community of students to expand this forum into a focused, multi-part discussion of race at the University.
Reflections on Complexions presents a student-made film and several skits that exaggerate racial issues at the University. Such dramatizations provide a jumping off point for discussing specific problems facing our community. Presented by Brothers United Celebrating Knowledge and Success, the program is accompanied by several disclaimers: Fingers will be pointed; you may feel uncomfortable; you must choose what you will do with the information presented. The organizers should be commended for a well-planned, professional presentation.
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Though different in format from other race-based forums, such as Driving While Black or the State of Race Relations, Reflections on Complexions still addresses the same topics.
Dining hall seating segregation; On-Grounds housing; the "black bus stop;" the honor system; The Cavalier Daily; Rugby Road and the Greek system; University traditions - not surprisingly, all of these catch phrases received microphone time.
Students know what the issues are. Now we need to address them for more than just 10 minutes each, once per year. Sustained Dialogue, a new program encouraging open discussion in a small-group format, is one way to keep the conversation going. Yet, many students equally affected by and concerned with race issues may not be able to make the biweekly commitment. Considering Reflections on Complexions' consistently high attendance, it is time to do even more with its popularity.
Turn Reflections into a multi-evening event, or create a new venue to achieve a similar goal. Spread it out over the course of several weeks. Spread it out over a semester or the academic year. Dedicate each program to one large race-based issue, and keep the conversation on track. Hopefully all in attendance will leave with more than just surface knowledge of such complex debates - hopefully they will understand to some degree as well.
Understanding does not mean coming to one vision of the University, as one audience member suggested Sunday. Understanding means having empathy for one another's perspectives. Although whites often are singled out as not understanding minority points of view, persons of color equally are guilty of not understanding many white persons' points of view. We all are guilty, we all sin - it is time to achieve commonality.
As it stands now, Reflections offers many opportunities for us to examine our differences, but little chance to look at what brings us together. It would be unreasonable to expect that much ground to be covered in a two-hour program. Extending Reflections to a multi-part discussion, or creating a new large-discussion forum that could do that, would allow those in attendance to start off with commonalities. Maybe then the words, "the things that bring us together are stronger than the things that tear us apart" will ring true.
Of course, the problem with any of these programs is that they often turn into exercises in preaching to the choir. The people who most need to participate in such dialogue are the very ones not present.
Making an organization's attendance mandatory at such an event is not the solution. Mandatory attendance makes about as much sense as compulsory community service - if one's heart is not in it, participation is pointless. Yet, this is the strategy many Greek organizations employ to get their members at events such as Reflections on Complexions.
A good showing of IFC fraternity brothers packed several back rows of seats at Sunday's Reflections. Many of the brothers left less than a third of the way through the forum after showing up to fulfill a diversity programming requirement. Everyone has commitments, and it is understandable if a few people have to leave during the course of the two-hour program. However, the mass exodus on the part of many fraternity brothers Sunday night was unacceptable. Such behavior is disrespectful to their fellow IFC members who stayed at the program, not to mention the event's organizers. But they didn't get to hear this, because they left too early.
Whether or not Reflections on Complexions' format changes, it is time to move our conversation beyond the basics. We need to examine closely the issues raised at Reflections. Have a two-hour conversation about race and housing at the University. Later, talk for another two hours about race and the honor system, and next time discuss race and The Cavalier Daily. Finally, schedule a conversation about race and the Greek system.
(Stephanie Batten's column appears Wednesdays in The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at sbatten@cavalierdaily.com.)
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