I wish to use this blog posting to discuss the presenation on Tuesday, Novemember 16, 2010.
All Dignitas students were required to come together and attend a common experience. This fall, our common experience was a presentation on diversity directed by Lee Mun Wah.
Who is Lee Mun Wah? Information taken from: http://www.nwmissouri.edu/iic/mosaic/bio/Lee_Mun_Wah.htm
Lee Mun Wah, is a nationally-acclaimed lecturer and Master Diversity & Communications Trainer, Lee Mun Wah is a Chinese American community therapist, documentary filmmaker, Special Education educator, performing poet, Asian folkteller and author. He is also the Executive Director of StirFry Seminars & Consulting, which works with corporations, government agencies, educational institutions, and social agencies to facilitate diversity issues through healthy and authentic cross cultural relationships.
In 1993 his first film on Asian Americans, Stolen Ground, won the San Francisco International Film Festival’s Certificate of Merit Award for Best Bay Area Documentary. The National Media Network voted his second film, The Color of Fear, the Gold Medal for the Best Social Studies Documentary in 1995. In 1998 The Color of Fear 2 won the Cindy International Film Festival’s Silver Medal for Best Social Studies Award. In 1995 Oprah Winfrey presented a one-hour special on his work and life, which was viewed by over 15 million viewers across the nation. His latest film, Last Chance for Eden, a six part film series on racism, sexism, and heterosexism was released in the Spring of 2003.
Thousands have taken his workshops and trainings throughout the United States and around the world. Lee Mun Wah believes when we value others for their uniqueness and differences, then we enhance the possibilities for out children and ourselves.
Lee Mun Wah, discussed with the CSS students and their instructors, the importance of building a community and how it should and should not be done. He selected students asked them to join him on the stage. The students that he selected were mostly minorities. The audience was asked basic questions about them. However, although these questions were basic, they were very difficult questions for us to answer. The students on the stage were also asked questions about themselves and their thoughts and feelings. He provoked several emotions during his hour and a half presentation. He asked us to think about how we communicate with each other and acknowledging our differences and stop focusing so hard to see what we have in common.
What did you think was powerful about this presentation? Did you like it? Why or why not? Do you think he helped us build a community? I look forward to your thoughts.
The aspect that I thought was powerful the courage that the students had to get up on stage and tell the school about their feelings. It was moving on how emotional some of the students became. I personally did not like this presentation though. I felt that it was only directed towards the minority. I kind of got irritated after sitting there for a while. My thoughts are that some of the students that were on stage totally bashed the school for not making them feel welcome, and not having a greater diversity. I thought that the school did a good job of this, but I guess I don’t know exactly because I am a part of the majority. And for the part of having a greater diversity, that’s just how it is in a small, private, northern Minnesota school. While others who were on stage I thought they presented their feeling better. I felt bad for the girl who went on stage to help comfort some of the other girls, and then later in the presentation, they totally shut her down with their comments. They could have said thank you to her or something, but they just shoved back in her face that she doesn’t know how it feels to be a part of the minority—and no we don’t. She at least tried to help them. And the other point I didn’t agree with was a statement that was said about not feeling acknowledged in the hallways, but I feel that a lot of whites don’t say hi or acknowledge other whites too. Not everybody says hi to me. This doesn’t mean I’m discriminated. Whites get discriminated too. An example would be there are many scholarships for people of color, but there isn’t for just whites—otherwise this would be discrimination of the colored population. I feel bad that people feel this way, but how I look at it, whites will never know how it feels to be of color and colored people won’t know how it feels to be white. We can try to understand somebody, but others will never know exactly how that person feels.
ReplyDeleteI don’t believe that this presentation helped us build community. I think this because I actually feel more separated. Why didn’t he acknowledge the majority at all? I do understand where the people from different cultures are coming from, but do they know what the whites’ view point is? I don’t mean that I think that the presentation should revolve around the whites. I do agree that it should revolve more around those of the minority, but I just feel that the minority should also see that they aren’t the only ones discriminated. I did appreciate the students going up on stage because I know I could never do that.
ReplyDeleteOne question that I did have was one of the students stated that they were sick of getting asked of where they are from and about their culture, but at the end they wanted the majority to know more about them. How is the majority supposed to know them better if they don’t want us to ask them about it? If we know this, I think that we could build a better community.
I loved the speaker that came to our school. It opened a lot of people's eyes including mine about our school and how we treat fellow classmates. The most powerful point in the presentation was when the students on stage began to open up, not only with words but with their emotions connected to what they were trying to explain. It was the most powerful for me because I felt like I could feel what they were going through. Almost as if our hearts were connecting; when their hearts were breaking on stage, mine was breaking from my seat. When Asha began to cry about losing her voice and her spirit, I began to tear up in my seat a long with her. That whole part was why I liked this presentation. Yes, I have talked to others about the presentation and I saw how they thought those people over reacted and it is not really that bad, but I believe those fellow students on that stage. I believe them when they share their stories of how hard life is living not only on our campus, but living in America in general. I think he did help us a little bit towards build a community because it allowed us to stop for a second, shut up and listen to our classmates. It allowed us to just hear out what they are feeling and experiencing. Yet, there are so many people who were mad about this presentation and are more outraged then before. So it did little for our community because of those people who hated it, are now more stubbern and close-minded. This is all my opinion and I'm sure there are plenty of others who disagree with me, but I believe this with all of my heart.
ReplyDeleteMeghan Mittelstadt
At first, I looked at going to the presentation as a burden, but just after the Lee Mun Wah started to talk, I found myself deeply in tuned to the message that he was trying to get across to us. I was extremely impressed by the presentation and how Lee and the rest of the students made me open my eyes to what is actually happening on our campus. It was very painful for me to watch those brave students stand up on stage and share their very painful stories with the audience. Just the fact that those students have to go through events like they explained on a daily basis right here at CSS is something that I think is absolutely terrible. I came from and area that racial and religious diversity is something that doesn’t exist. Coming from that area, I was exposed to a lot of discrimination and I sometimes found myself participating in it as well and now that I look back, I am ashamed of my actions. By coming here and being exposed to such different diversities, and going to Lee Mun Wah’s presentation has really opened my eyes and made me realize that we are all the same. Just because some looks, talks, acts, or practices things different does not give one the right to judge. I do believe that by going to the presentation my ability to work in a community has been strengthened and I hope that others feel the same way that I do.
ReplyDeleteIf there is one thing that upsets mean about going to this presentation, it is people’s reactions to the entire presentation. I am constantly hearing that people feel like there were being attacked and being called a racist by the people on stage. This upsets me so much because I look at it as being selfish. The people that shared their stories on stage have been through hell and it makes me sick to think that as they are bravely sharing their life stories on stage that people couldn’t stop and listen for a minute to what they had to say and not think about themselves. It saddens me deeply that students here at CSS have had such terrible experiences here and it has caused them to leave. So I ask those students that felt like they were being attacked, to take a step back, stop being so selfish and really think about what those students said on stage.
Maggie Carlson
Meghan
ReplyDeleteI felt the same way that you did. It killed me to find out that my fellow classmates go through such hardship everyday. I believe that people need to take a step back and look at everyone as a normal human being. Like you, the people that felt attacked need to realize that what the people said on stage was not that bad and they were not trying attack the audience at all, they were only trying to make a point. I feel very fortunate that I was given the opportunity to attend that presentation and I feel that I am a better person because of it.
Maggie Carlson
At first I was unsure what to think of the presentation or what it was going to be about. I know it took a lot for those students to get up on stage and talk about their feelings and experiences that they have gone through and all the emotions that came from it. But to be honest I really did not like this presentation. I am not racist at all but I felt that it was just about the minority. The people around me felt the same way, and felt that they were just picking us apart with how we aren’t making them feel welcome. Personally I thought the cultural diversity program was very good with this and the population of cultural students coming to CSS the past couples years has been growing, so it seems as if we are doing something right here. I did not like how they didn’t have like a white short student on stage, or someone who is overweight, too skinny, or even really tall. Those people do get questioned and discriminated against because of those things as well and because they may not be discriminated against because of their color or background it isn’t such a big deal to people, when in reality it is. People will never know what its like to be in someone else’s shoes who is different then them as of skin color, height, weight, age, sex, or even anything, so they cant understand how the person really feels, we can only try to understand. I know getting up on the stage took a lot out of those people and they are very brave and I respect them but I would have liked to see different groups of people, such as color and their differences. I dont believe this helped us build a community. I think that it just showed us one point of view on something and I think we need to see both sides of things, and not just of the minority of the population here. People do need to realize that just because your skin color is different then someone else that isn’t the only thing you can be discriminated by, and I think people just look at it as color is the biggest reason behind discrimination.
ReplyDeleteNikki Darker
I thought this presentation was very effective. We have talked about racism, stereotyping, judging, and prejudices, but this really made it come real. It was really sad to hear what these people had to say, and it was especially hard when some of them started to cry. I'm sure they held it back as much as they could.. who would want to cry in front of that many people you don't know? That just shows how serious this is to them, and how hurt they really feel. The things that they go through and feel every day is horrible. No one should feel like that on a daily basis. It's just sad because this is a tough world. They're not the only ones getting discriminated against, like Nikki said. You can get discriminated against for so many other reasons besides your skin color and where you are from. It's really unfair and just not right. It made me feel bad because I am white and I'm not racist at all. I would never stare at someone just because of the color of their skin. I also wouldn't ask inappropriate questions or walk on the opposite side of the hallway trying to avoid them. It makes it seem like they think that every white person is like this. It seems like they think that there isn't any white people who are different, or who have tried to make a change. But although racism and discrimination are huge problems in society today, not all of us are like that. One thing I noticed was at the end. The white girl was up on stage talking to the minorities, apologizing for how they felt, and it was hard to concentrate on what she was saying because I was concentrated on James(I'm pretty sure that's his name! He was the one on the right end.) All of the other people were facing her and paying attention to what she was saying, and he was turned towards the other way with his arms crossed. These nonverbals told me that he didn't even want to hear what she had to say. Like it doesn't matter if we try to help or apologize, it seemed like he just didn't want to hear it. I could be totally wrong, but it just caught my eye. I think in a way this helped us build our community because it made us realize how the minorities really feel. It helped that they opened up so much. I really respect them for that; it couldn't have been easy. I definitely see both sides to this. I think it was effective because now we can all be more open, kind, and aware, but I feel like most of us are.. Overall, I did like the presentation. It was sad and really makes you think about it.
ReplyDeleteKristin Sorensen
The speaker we saw on Tuesday left me with mixed feelings. I did like the idea of the presentation, it made me realize that I should be more conscious of how the minority race are perceiving my actions even though I do not mean to offend them. The statement that they said about how they felt like we (meaning the majority race) would not make eye contact with them and would step around them, offended me. When I walk down the hallway there are a lot of people around me that do not make eye contact with me, and move out of my way so they wont run into me. They are not the only ones who deal with that. The statement that they feel like the majority race stares at them and feel like we are judging them, is understandable. No one likes to get stared at because it makes anyone feel like they are being segregated or not accepted. I'm sure that they have gotten looks before, and I'm not saying that it does not make them feel bad, but I get stared at too. Everyone does, most people can admit that they've stared at someone walking into class and follow them to their seat. It can be an awkward situation but it happens to everyone. It fit well with what we have been talking about dealing with racism and segregating others. I respect the people who went up there and talked in front of all of the students, it would be very hard to pour out your emotions on stage. I give them credit and appreciate actually knowing how they feel. All in all the message of the presentation was good, I loved the idea behind what they were saying I guess I just thought that they took it a little to far in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteKatelyn Geib
I thought that the most powerful aspect of the entire presentation was not the words that the students on stage were saying, but the emotions that were being revealed through their words. They expressed such pain and sadness in their voices that it really opened my eyes to something I am not familiar with that they deal with on a day to day basis. I will never know how it feels to be a minority that is responsible for representing an entire race of people. I cannot imagine having to be the voice for such a huge group of people. It truly is not fair to the individuals who are being asked the questions. They can only speak for themselves. It makes me feel terrible that a few of the students said they had lost their voice and their spirit when coming to CSS. This is such a shame.
ReplyDeleteOverall I liked the presentation. I thought it was eye opening and while it may have made many people feel guilty, sometimes that is necessary to get a message across. It is hard to say whether or not this presentation helped to build CSS as a joined community. It truly depends on how the message was taken my students who are primarily part of the majority. If nothing else, I think that it brought about a greater understanding in general of different cultures and perceptions. The issue of racism cannot be solved through one presentation but it is definitely on the right path.
One thing that did bother me was how the presentation was about diversity but only included differences of race or ethnicity. Diversity encompasses so much more than just this. Also, the culture of the majority was more or less ignored which I found a little insulting. I understand why they focused on the minorities, but isn't the majority also a part of diversity?
Michelle Fischer
In Response to Katelyn:
ReplyDelete"The statement that they said about how they felt like we (meaning the majority race) would not make eye contact with them and would step around them, offended me."
I agree with you completely. When I heard one of the girls make this comment, I thought the same thing. People always avoid making eye contact with me. I think it is simply in our human nature to feel uncomfortable and look away. I rarely do this because eye contact is important to me. I found it sad that the students up front took this as a form of racism. Perhaps in some cases this is true but I think mostly people are just uncomfortable making eye contact. They do it with all people whether they are of a different race or not. I also feel like people stare at me and judge me on a day to day basis. I feel like because I am in the majority, it is assumed that I constantly feel secure and comfortable but this is not the case at all.
Michelle Fischer
I want to start off by saying that Nikki's comment "People will never know what its like to be in someone else’s shoes who is different then them as of skin color, height, weight, age, sex, or even anything, so they cant understand how the person really feels, we can only try to understand." was really eye opening to me and how the program did not focus on these things as well. Color isn't the only factor in all of this, other people can be discriminated against too.
ReplyDeleteI agree with almost everything that Katelyn had to say. I feel that it is hard for anyone to make the transition from high school to college. I also understand that it is different from person to person and that it is probably harder for someone who is transitioning from majority to minority. The stares that people give and the avoidance that seems to happen can happen to anyone. Sometimes I feel that I am being judged when I walk down the hall. Descrimination affects everyone.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteJake T said...
ReplyDeleteI didn’t go to the presentation, but from reading the various comments it looked like it was a powerful presentation whether someone took it as positive or negative. I’m not sure where I would have stood if I had been in attendance, but I knew I would of held my own opinion. From what it sounded like he did in a way help recognize detail in the discrimination towards minorities. But at the same time, that is what a lot of people are doing and not to be mean by any means. But most Americans are trying their best to be anti racist and change their ways, but there is only some much you can say, until people get annoyed. And the reason it annoys me is because I am not racist and I am open to meet anyone, but its those stubborn people out there who don’t care to change, forces people like Lee Mun Wah to do what he does. I didn’t know if I had to blog on the blog or not because I wasn’t there, but I decided to anyway.
Jake Turkowski
I agree with Michelle when she said the issue of racism cannot be solved though one presentation but it is on the right path. And I also agree with lscharp when he/she said that whites get discriminated against too and minorities are not the only ones.
ReplyDeleteJake Turkowski
I really appreciate your honest comments everyone. I think it shows maturity to express what you think and why you think that way, rather than simply agreeing for the sake of not being different.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to reading more.
Monica
I thought the presentation was powerful in a lot of ways. One of the ways is that i enjoyed hearing what they all had to say. It made me more aware of how they feel and what they think. At first i really liked the presentation but after i heard people discussing it afterwards i started to change my mind. I dont understand why they think that we judge them all the time. Every single person gets judged most likely every day. I feel the exact same way that they do sometimes too. Its not about being a different color its about making the best out of every situation. I am going to relate this back to the homeless blog. Just because minorities may have had experienced bad situations doesn't mean that its going to be that way every time. I feel as though they just have their thoughts in one mind set. Everyone judges someone at some point or another, so i dont understand why they are using it as a crutch to say that people treat them differently. I'm almost positive i get judged everyday whether it is good or bad i will not know what that other person is thinking. So i dont think they should assume it is always bad just becuase of some bad experiences they have had. People stare for many different reasons, and i gaurantee its not nearly as bad as the person thinks. I do not think it helped us as a community because everyone has different opinions on this topic. It may have proven some points to us but i think that the community will stay the same as it is right now.
ReplyDeleteKrista York
I'm sorry, I don't have time to post tonight...I'll comment tomorrow, God willing.
ReplyDeleteSorry,
Mary~
When watching this presentation I actually started to cry, when I heard how hurt some of the students felt. I truly felt horrible for them and that they felt this way. All I could think about is how can I make this better for them. However the only thing I could think of was just make sure I say hi to everyone, but I already do that. I also thought it was really sad that no one asked one of the girls name when they met her, but instead they asked her about all of africa. How is she suppose to speak for all of africa. I really think that is just rude, and when ever you meet someoneyou always should ask them there name..... you doesn't ask a persons name. It's just not right!
ReplyDeleteNonetheless I did feel very bad for the students who showed all the sad emotion in front of our whole freshmen class, because if that was me I would of felt so embarrassed. Personally I hate crying in front of anyone so maybe they felt differently. I didn't really like how Lee Mun Wah put the minorities verse the majority. I just don't really think thats far to anyone. I know we need to fix this problem, but making a general comment about whites are all against minorities is not the way to do it. The thing we have to remember is that everyone is DIFFERENT! And that is what makes us who we all are, and what America is too. The differences we have is what makes us all great. Could you imagine if we where all alike....... that would just be boring. Everyone needs to put the past behind us and learn from it. We need to realize we treat others the way we want to be treated!!
Maggie Dolan
After this presentation I had mixed feelings. I understand the stereotyping and the discrimination but minorities aren’t the only ones that are being discriminated. I thought it was awesome how the students went on stage and opened up and pretty much proved their point. I also thought about what if we put disabled students, to disordered, to people that are depressed or with other problems that aren’t the best to deal with up on stage and I’m sure everyone would have the same feeling.
ReplyDeleteKayla Heisler
Nikki-
ReplyDeleteI felt the same exact way, like thats what everyone around my area was talking about how we shouldn't feel guilty about this at all. To build a community everyone needs to work together not just showing the minorities their side of the story. It would've been allot more interesting if they had a different groups.
Kayla Heisler
Okay, now I will finally comment (it was already 11PM when I posted last night), God willing.
ReplyDeleteThis presentation gave me conflicting feelings. I like the message that Lee Mun Wah portrayed pertaining to building community by talking about differences, but his methodology bothered me. It's good that we know how those people felt, but practically forcing them to share isn't okay. I felt it was a very uncomfortable situation for many of them. Also, it is important to talk about what makes us unique, such as our skin color or where we are from, but at the same time, we NEED to remember that we have common ground. If you put 500 people in a room & tell them they should focus on their differences, it will not foster community! First, we have to realize that what we have in common is our humanity (our existence) & our basic need to be happy (more or less). Only after that can we begin to appreciate diversity. Also, I believe that factors other than color & ethnicity should have been acknowledged. There are so many minorities that were not represented up on that stage. I'm a minority in the sense of religious beliefs & within my own minority I am actually a part of ANOTHER minority, which arises from the fact that I'm a white (& American) Muslim. I KNOW people stare at me (for various reasons), but I try my best not to feel ashamed (sometimes it's hard, especially because many people don't know what Islam really is, but I know that I'm glad to be who I am). I know that in being a minority I'm going get looked at! However, a few bad situations don't give me the right to make the generalization that everyone dislikes me or mistreats me. I've also had good experiences with others concerning my religion so it would be unfair for me to forget about those. It's all about balance & trying to connect with anyone & everyone no matter how I am treated.
When the majority was excluded, it caused strife between the groups on both sides. The minority felt agitated when remembering their experiences (though this relates back to stereotyping because not everyone avoids/mistreats them) & some from the majority felt as if they were being accused. It seems to me there was a lot of finger pointing...
I think that if we had addressed the need to look at & respect differences in a safer, group-inclusive setting it would have helped build community. Many people are more at odds with one another now. Lee Mun Wah's idea is wonderful, but I disagree with his approach. I do think we can become closer & can understand one another through our differences, but this is not the way, in my eyes.
Mary~
Michelle said, "I understand why they focused on the minorities, but isn't the majority also a part of diversity?"
ReplyDeleteMy response:
That is a really good point. No matter how many people are a part of a certain group, they are indeed a part of the community & they are different from others. By leaving out one group of people one is perpetuating segregation which is the problem being addressed. We have to include everyone if we want to build our community!
Mary~
In response to this blog, I personally think that a lot of our freshman class did not get Lee Mun Wah's point. He was not trying to attack the majority, nor was he there that day to piss people off. He was there to help us enrich our community, and to help us connect. To do so, he wanted to show us some of the problems that minority here at CSS are facing. However, I been hearing a lot of people saying they felt attack, and called a racist. Had he or anyone on stage ever use the word racist, no. This presentation was to show and inform our freshman class, not to make the same mistake as many other classes had. It was suppose to open our eyes and mind to these issues and help us stop these tensions. It is a disappointment to see and hear that many people dislike this presentation and felt attacked. No wonder it'll take a lot of work before we can even have a nice diverse community here at CSS. I personally was on stage, and felt remorse hearing these sad stories form the other fellow students on stage. However, instead of saying negative things that been happening I purposely said the positive things about this campus, however how many people listen to that? Probably not even half of the audience because they're so focus on defending their pride and value that they become close minded. I just want to say that if we want to become great community we must first appreciate these things and be open minded instead of being piss about this. Many people stereotype that this presentation was prescript when I was up there and not prescript. I'm just really disappointed how instead of using this presentation to further help improve our community, some people chose to be stuck up, and go against it.
ReplyDeleteIn response to mcarlso8
ReplyDeleteYou bring many several great points about how the presentation had an aim to help better our community. It is sad that some of our freshman class felt attack or targeted, which I still don't get. It was a presentation to show our freshman class that we can be different and we can change this community of CSS to a better campus, and not make the same mistake as many other had. I do understand and agree with many others who said the majority wasn't represented, however if only those who are close minded can be open minded we wouldn't even have to think of that. Instead we'll be thinking of what we can do to help better our community.
Krista-
ReplyDeleteI agree with you when you say " Every single person gets judged most likely every day. I feel the exact same way that they do sometimes too. "
I know that they feel really sad, not welcome, different in a bad way, and not accepted, but I also can say that I've felt this way. They need to realize that they're not alone. People judge other people constantly. An example that happened to me recently was when one of my high school friends had some people over. It was all of us kids that went to high school together, then two or three random girls that go here at Scholastia. They started to talk to me and asked me where I live. When I said I live at home, they all started to laugh and one of them said to me, "well no wonder you don't have any friends." I had a choice to live on campus if I wanted to; I just don't want to and to be honest, I'm happy with my decision. I love my family, my puppies, free food, my closet, my own bathroom, and mostly, my twin sister. These girls judged me thinking I have no friends just because I don't live on campus and most of my friends don't go to this college. These minority people are not alone in this.
Kristin Sorensen
I really liked the fact that Krista related this to the homeless blog, and how just because they are in a bad situation doesn't mean that it will always be like that. I also really liked Marys comment about how if you just pick out and focus on everyones differences it won't bring us together and foster community, it will only hurt us. I agree with her that his idea was good, but it was just they way that he portrayed it and he approached it.
ReplyDeleteKatelyn Geib
What was powerful about this presination was how he drew you in to it. He made us all think. The facts he used helped too. Like the fact about the presidents and how Obama would be the 5th president with an african american background. How John McCain was also born ofof the real united statkes. He was born on a base in Panama and Obama was born on Hawaii when it was a Territory. i did like alot of the presintation but some parts where not that great to me. He put the Black students on the spot and i did not think that was very nice. I got the point he was trying to make but it was very hard to watch those students cry. This can help build a community, he wanted to have us look at people for who they are and not as equals. By making them uncomfortable he made us uncomfortable and this will help every one make a different. As a community we need to look at people for who the are and thats what the whole point of this presintation was.
ReplyDeleteI felt the presentation opened many peoples' eyes. It made me look at people in a different way. I did enjoy the speaker but I didn't like some peoples' reactions to the speaker. I knew there were many types of minorities here, but I have never seen the school or community through their eyes. I understand how they think people look at them differently, but I feel that they take the looks in a wrong way. Everyone gets looked at not just because you are black or asian or anything. I am white and people look at me too. Its human nature to look at anyone and to judge them. They were right in how they are discriminated against. I can't relate to something like that or getting called derogatory names. It is sad that people take out anger and hate against people who have done nothing to them to deserve it.
ReplyDeleteI believe the people who went on stage were very brave, but at the same time not many students were opened minded enough to understand their struggles. People were more judgmental after this presentation I think.
In my opinion this did not bring us together as a community. It only distinguished the blatant differences within our so-called community. People were furious after this presentation which was the wrong way of looking at it. I feel that we as a whole, disrespected the minorities in our school more by talking trash and making comments afterwards. I saw sides of people that I never knew about. Be opened minded people and don't think speakers like that are trying to target you. Take it with a grain of salt as my dad would say.
Josh Kellner
Sher-
ReplyDeleteI agree with your idea that Lee Mun Wah wasn't trying to target the majority. He was only trying to show you life through a different set of eyes. We have no reason to judge someone or their life until we put ourselves in their position. Too many people overreacted to this presentation. This would be a very good topic to bring up in class.
Josh Kellner
In Response to Sher-
ReplyDeleteI completely agree on what you said about people feeling attacked. That was not his point by doing this presentation. I t was to try and make people more aware and realize the issues tat are going on. Sher you made some great points about this presentation and how it should be helping our community. I feel as though people only felt attacked because the speaker was pointing out main thoughts that did not necessarily have to do with them.
Krista York
I really liked how michelle said, "It is hard to say whether or not this presentation helped to build CSS as a joined community. It truly depends on how the message was taken my students who are primarily part of the majority." I truly don't believe if this presentation worked for our community either. I really hope more people took this presentation more positively then negative. I think people just need to forget about the majority getting discriminated and realize thats just how some people felt not everyone. We can always work on the little thing like saying hi to everyone because that is something everyone can do.
ReplyDeleteMaggie Dolan
I think that the atmosphere of the presentation was the most powerful experience. I walked into the auditorium thinking this was going to be a light-hearted speech about bonding as a community and treating one another with respect but I was completely caught off guard when it turned directions and became so much more serious. Also, I think having audience members answer questions and voice their opinions was also very powerful. Everyone was so willing to speak up in the beginning but by the end nobody wanted to say anything.
ReplyDeleteThough it was powerful, I did not like this presentation at all. I feel like by the end of it he was trying to make the caucasian population apologize to the people on stage. Yes, I know they have experienced some pretty horrible things but personally I don't think I needed to go to a lecture and be told to be ashamed of myself for looking at someone of another color. If and when I look at someone of a different color it is usually because I think they are beautiful or I just happened to look up at them. I'm not judging them and I am not racist so I feel that I did not need to be yelled at for something I don't do.
No, it did not build community. In fact I think it's made things much more awkward. Everyone I've talked to since then has felt as though it's separated us more because now when we walk by someone of a different color we feel obliged to say hello or now we feel ashamed, awkward or confused. We don't know if we say hello if they think we are being fake or if we're sincerely saying hello. In conclusion, I was not happy with the presentation on Tuesday.
In response to Sher, "It is a disappointment to see and hear that many people dislike this presentation and felt attacked. No wonder it'll take a lot of work before we can even have a nice diverse community here at CSS"
ReplyDeleteMaybe I am just being ignorant, but the reason I came to Scholastica was because I believed it was a very welcoming, diverse, campus. Most everyone I have met here has been very open and informed. My sister graduated from Scholastica last year and she has taught me so much about the things and say and how they could be seen as racist to some. I feel like most people here are plenty better than what is out there by a lot. I'm not saying it's not present here on campus and I'm not saying we shouldn't do something about it but honestly I didn't really think it was that big of a problem here on campus. It seemed to me that everyone is pretty well aware of racial issues.
As others have also said,I also left with mixed feelings about the presentation. Overall the man was a good speaker and I'm sure had a great message, but when he broght the people up on stage it was almost like we were being attacked on things. I personally felt uncomfortable and a little angered at times through the presentation. I mean yes I feel terrible for the hardships that people have to go through, but we dont need an hour lecture about it. Personal opinion of course. It also disturbed me when that girl with the blonde hair was called to go up and when she was saying how she feel she got shot down a couple times by the presenter. I also dont think it will help us make a better community becasue I know multiple people felt the same as I did throughout the presentation.
ReplyDeleteReply to lscharp
ReplyDeleteAs I read through your post I found myself agreeing to the things you said a lot. I really felt the same way that you did, and when you said you thought some of them bashed the school for not making them welcome, really made me think. Because the cultural students coming to CSS have been growing the past couple years so it makes me think that we are doing something right here. When you also said that not everyone says Hi to you, thats true I dont say hi to every white person that walks the halls, and because people see that as if maybe someone doesnt smile or say hi that we are discriminating against them because of their color when you really never know maybe someone was having a bad day or something.
Nikki Darker
In response to Mary. I agree with you to a certain point when you stated “It's good that we know how those people felt, but practically forcing them to share isn't okay. I felt it was a very uncomfortable situation for many of them.” The only aspect that I might change about this is, that maybe some of them weren’t afraid and would want to let others know how they are feeling. This is a large issue and voices need to be heard. I think that if it’s a big enough issue, one shouldn’t be scared to talk otherwise they will keep it with them forever.I also see where this would be uncomfortable because there were many people with all eyes on them. I wouldn't be comfortable with it either.
ReplyDeleteLauren Scharp
In response to Kristin:
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on it when you said "We have talked about racism, stereotyping, judging, and prejudices, but this really made it come real." You are right, people who don't know us wouldn't just bawl their eyes out on stage. This wasn't an act and they were not over-reacting, they were dead real. This is honestly how they feel and it hit me hard. People do get discriminated against for multiple things, including me. Lots of people stare at my hair because it has purple in it. Who cares?! It's my style and I like it. But I know there are worse judging and stereotyping out there, but it shows that peole are judged for the littlest things.
p.s. I posted this a couple days ago, but I just realized now I didn't do that computer check thing and just exited out of this page. So I'm sorry for it being late.
In response to what Maggie, when she said "I didnt like how he put the minorities against the majority. I agree with her becasue no only did it put them in an uncomfortable postition in put most of the audience in the same spot. People were not happy with this set up. It was making the people on stage almost sound like they were lecturing us. I didnt like it and I know others didnt either.
ReplyDelete