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It was an intimate setting amongst friends, in a place that some would consider one of the only safe places on campus. A free space to speak honestly, and that is exactly what these 14 students did Monday night at The Rainbow Center. In conjunction with True Colors Inc., The Rainbow Center presented the first seminar in a series of six different gatherings, each with a different theme.
This evening's topic was "The Intersections of -isms," part of the "True Colors Leadership Development Seminars." These lectures, geared towards discussing elements of diversity, were inspired to open the eyes of the students who participated.
In a small room filled with pictures of diversity and acceptance, delicate topics were brought to the surface, including the different sides of prejudice (whether you are on the receiving end or the giving end), memories of being teased and of teasing, discovering there are different races and when skin became politics.
"I never noticed until 1st or 2nd grade that we were different until somebody pointed it out to me," said Elise English, a 1st-semester molecular cell biology major. She was referring to discovering the differences in race. Obviously the pains of suffering prejudice were being homosexual wasn't the only issue addressed. Racism was a vast topic of the evening, among other topics such as class-ism.
There were lessons to be learned. According to the seminar, one was that people are cultured into being prejudice, and that everyone is prejudice. It is up to each individual to not give that idea power.
Fleurette King, the Director of the Rainbow Center, also participated in the group discussion, explaining why these seminars are so important to the community and toward further enlightenment.
"The problem is the generation who was informed about [the issues] have grown and now there is a new generation," King said. "People think they are just as informed, but they aren't."
The seminar also helped students come to terms with the fact that they too, tend to judge people before they truly know them.
One student, who wished to remain anonymous, said, "I feel angry most of the time… I'm not proud of it… but it's usually out of frustration that I do it."
Robin McHaelen, executive director of True Colors Inc. was inspired to hold this event.
"I started thinking about 'isms'," McHaelen said. "This is an opportunity… what we're trying to achieve here is a safe educational enviorment for everyone."
And that was the feeling in the room. Even though there were difficult issues being spoken of, the students were laughing and were automatically comfortable being themselves in front of their peers. From the two-on-two conversations to the group discussion, no one seemed uncomfortable in this sensitive, safe space.
Contact Melissa Vega at Melissa.Vega@UConn.edu.
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