Race dominates post-election diversity dialogue
Jimmy Sengenberger, Staff Reporter
Issue date: 11/24/08 Section: News
The 2008 elections brought with it division and heated debate as supporters of Senators Barack Obama and John McCain battled to elect their candidate to the office of the President. At times the arguments intensified, with cries of "socialism" on one side and "racism" on the other permeating the conversation.
In an effort to help bridge the gap in the aftermath of a divisive election, the Institute for the Common Good, University Ministry, Student Activities, Peace and Justice and the Office of the Provost joined together to sponsor a post-election dialogue giving students and faculty the opportunity to engage in civil dialogue with one another.
The goal of the diversity dialogue, one of many discussions of the sort put on by the Institute, was to hone deep listening skills and to share one's views while simultaneously suspending judgment and assuming goodwill. The session was treated very much in a confidential fashion; everything that was said would be under the condition that no one's views would be acknowledged as having been said by that particular individual.
The event, which was attended by students and faculty alike, began with an opportunity for those attending to take a stand-literally. The attendees were divided into three groups: disappointed, excited or curious as to what will happen.
"There are different ways of looking at Sen. Obama," one attendee, who was part of the "excited" group, said. "For me, it's the future of the world that I'm worried about. What's good for America might not be good for the world. Obama would feel more responsibility for world leadership."
Another was concerned about the problems Obama is inheriting, while a third expressed nervousness about what radical people will do as a result of the Obama win. This concern was shared by a number of those who attended, who were worried about the issue of race in the campaign, a subject which became the primary topic of the discussion.
"When I think about and I see a person who is 83-years-old crying because she never thought she would ever see a black person as President of this country, I know how important it is that a black man became President," said Sociology professor Doreen Watson.
In an effort to help bridge the gap in the aftermath of a divisive election, the Institute for the Common Good, University Ministry, Student Activities, Peace and Justice and the Office of the Provost joined together to sponsor a post-election dialogue giving students and faculty the opportunity to engage in civil dialogue with one another.
The goal of the diversity dialogue, one of many discussions of the sort put on by the Institute, was to hone deep listening skills and to share one's views while simultaneously suspending judgment and assuming goodwill. The session was treated very much in a confidential fashion; everything that was said would be under the condition that no one's views would be acknowledged as having been said by that particular individual.
The event, which was attended by students and faculty alike, began with an opportunity for those attending to take a stand-literally. The attendees were divided into three groups: disappointed, excited or curious as to what will happen.
"There are different ways of looking at Sen. Obama," one attendee, who was part of the "excited" group, said. "For me, it's the future of the world that I'm worried about. What's good for America might not be good for the world. Obama would feel more responsibility for world leadership."
Another was concerned about the problems Obama is inheriting, while a third expressed nervousness about what radical people will do as a result of the Obama win. This concern was shared by a number of those who attended, who were worried about the issue of race in the campaign, a subject which became the primary topic of the discussion.
"When I think about and I see a person who is 83-years-old crying because she never thought she would ever see a black person as President of this country, I know how important it is that a black man became President," said Sociology professor Doreen Watson.
Be the first to comment on this story