Tunnel of Oppression, Day 1
The day began with all staff of the “Tunnel of Oppression” running around finishing up last minute tasks and hoping for a successful festival. Douglas’ role was to interview students on their experience and Sheila’s role was to work with GMU’s Multicultural Research and Resource Center staff to welcome participants to the “Area of Hope”.
As students slowly walked into the room, we switched on John Lennon’s famous song, “Imagine”. While participants listened to the soothing music, positive messages appeared on a screen in front of them. They were then asked to get rid of feelings of hate or oppression by writing them down and throwing them away in our “Throw your Hate Away” trash can. If they had positive words to offer and/or their hope for the future, they were asked to write it on our “Wall of Hope”. Then they were asked to be seated for a short debriefing session with professional counselors.
As the day came to a close, almost all volunteers and staff had taken a tour of the tunnel. We shared our personal feelings around the different rooms. Since most of the organizers discuss and confront these issues of oppression frequently, it did not affect us much. On the contrary, it made us realize how much work there needs to be done.
Day 1 was slow, organizers and volunteers did not know what to expect. By the end of the day, we all let out a sigh of relief and prepared ourselves for another full day of discussing issues of oppression as we said our “see you tomorrow”s.
As students slowly walked into the room, we switched on John Lennon’s famous song, “Imagine”. While participants listened to the soothing music, positive messages appeared on a screen in front of them. They were then asked to get rid of feelings of hate or oppression by writing them down and throwing them away in our “Throw your Hate Away” trash can. If they had positive words to offer and/or their hope for the future, they were asked to write it on our “Wall of Hope”. Then they were asked to be seated for a short debriefing session with professional counselors.
As the day came to a close, almost all volunteers and staff had taken a tour of the tunnel. We shared our personal feelings around the different rooms. Since most of the organizers discuss and confront these issues of oppression frequently, it did not affect us much. On the contrary, it made us realize how much work there needs to be done.
Day 1 was slow, organizers and volunteers did not know what to expect. By the end of the day, we all let out a sigh of relief and prepared ourselves for another full day of discussing issues of oppression as we said our “see you tomorrow”s.
posted by Sadak Noise at 8:09 PM
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