Hundreds of students gathered in Woodburn Hall on Thursday night to walk through the Tunnel of Oppression an immersive experience that portrayed several scenes of hardship in front of a mostly freshman audience.
“Our intent is not to offend anyone but rather to increase awareness and promote understanding,” said graduate supervisor Kate Chandley, one of the Tunnel’s tour guides.
For the Welcome Week event, students were placed into groups of about 15 and guided through classrooms in Woodburn Hall. Actors in the scenes simulated portrayals of sexual assault, racism, homelessness, police brutality, eating disorders and body image.
Afterward, group leaders led the participants in discussions on their reactions. Students were shown videos and skits during the simulations but were not allowed to talk through the duration of the experience. The discussion groups allowed them to voice their opinions.
Many students said what they saw made them upset but left them unsurprised.
Some shared their own experiences of friends and family members who went through hardships similar to those in the Tunnel of Oppression simulations. Some voiced feelings of hopelessness, especially after recent events like the white nationalist protests in Charlottesville.
Freshman Ethan Tinsley said the event won’t get through to the people privileged enough to not think about these topics in their daily lives.
“I know that the people who actually need to come look at this won’t do it,” he said. “They react the way they do because they don’t know.”
While the first four simulations provoked students in Tinsley’s group to reflect upon their own actions, the students reacted differently to the final simulation.
The skit involved a black man getting pulled over in his car by a police officer.
“What did I do?” the man asked, to which the officer had no reply. The officer then forced the man to exit the car, pinned him down and eventually shot him for resisting arrest.
When the group discussed the police brutality scene, Tinsley said he felt doubtful about the possibility of change.
“I just think it is a losing battle,” said Tinsley. “We can’t change the officers' mindsets.”
Andi Cailles, director of resident life, led Tinsley and 14 other students in the discussion. While she said she understood Tinsley’s remark, she said the goal is to inspire the students to intervene in unjust situations.
“Courage breeds courage,” Cailles said. “Students here have so many opportunities to educate themselves on situations like these, and hope starts with education.”
