Building Bridges ~ Creating Community
Tunnel of Oppression
February 27-28, 2012
Strand Union Ballrooms
What is the Tunnel of Oppression?
Tunnel of Oppression is an interactive event that highlights contemporary issues of oppression. It is designed to introduce participants to the concepts of oppression, privilege, and power. Participants are guided through a series of scenes or exhibits that aim to educate and challenge them to think more deeply about issues of oppression. At the end of the tour, participants are provided with the opportunity to discuss their experiences with each other. Facilitators help participants reflect on their experiences and put their newfound knowledge to use in their everyday lives.
History:
The Tunnel of Oppression is a campus grassroots diversity program that originated in 1993 at the Western Illinois University. Using the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, California as a model, Tunnel strives to give people a way to experience oppression in a hands-on way. By engaging emotions of the participants, it allows for the accounts expressed in the program to be truly effective. People may have never been placed in these types of situations, and they obtain a sense of what it actually feels like to be oppressed or discriminated through the sights and sounds they experience. While Tunnel may be disturbing to some participants, it can be an effective tool used to teach people about how it really feels to be in the various situations and provide the opportunity to consider types of oppression that we participate in daily.
A big THANK YOU to everyone for making this experience a success! We had hundreds of people take tours and the responses were overwhelmingly positive! We are looking forward to next year!
Groups Involved in the Spring 2012:
Baha'i Campus Club, Counseling and Psychological Services, Diversity Awareness Office, Family and Graduate Housing, Interhall RHA., NECO, Queer-Straight Alliance, Residence Life - Diversity and Social Justice Committee, Students Against Sexual Assault, Students for Choice, Students for Life, Students in spring Sculpture classes, Sustained Dialogue, The VOICE Center, The Women's Center
Interested in being involved in next year's Tunnel? EMAIL US!
