The Minority SaPHety Net event was all about how we can create a more inclusive environment on campus and the experiences of students from marginalized groups on campus. The event had 3 keynote speakers: Carol Quillen, Todd Sigler, and Norman Bailey. Carol Quillen focused on how in order to have a more inclusive environment we need to not make others stories our stories. She related her talk back to Humanities and discussed the importance of not putting others in a box because that’s when they feel the most uncomfortable. Todd Sigler focused on the legal rights students have as an individual in this country and on campus. His main emphasis was that we have to give consent to give away some of our rights and we should not do so. We shouldn’t willingly give away a right that we have and by being informed of our rights, we can better tell when they are being taken away from us. Norman Bailey focuses on his own story and understanding the difference between when one is in pain and when one is uncomfortable. If one is uncomfortable he believes they should use that moment of discomfort to grow. The Student Q&A section was interesting because they discussed not receiving support from the administration, from the student body as a whole, and from other minority groups. The most important question was where are the white students, where are the students who aren’t marginalized. In our current world, it’s not just enough for minority groups to support other minority groups. We need everyone to support each other and show up to events like this so that we all can learn how to make our shared space more welcoming.
Coming back to this post I’ve realized how important it is that individuals seek to listen and learn from other individuals that differ from them. On-campus there was a largely known microaggression that took place recently. From discussing with others about the microaggression and thinking about it myself, I thought to myself that of course, things like this will happen because people who are not part of marginalized groups don’t seek to learn from those who are. We have a societal deficit when it comes it comes to our ability to listen and acknowledge the voices of those that we deem too different. I’ve learned much this semester in this course but one thing that has really stuck with me is the idea of a single story being the basis for how society views people. In the case of the most recent microaggression on campus, it was a single story that the individuals involved believed in and that single story that made them ignorant. Even more interesting, some of these single stories are held subconsciously.
