Students who participated in a racism task force Oct. 7 stressed that the issue of racism on campus is never “black and white.”
Kimalee Phillip, president of the Graduate Students’ Association, discussed issues of racism and the need to incorporate more than just colour in the issue. Phillip said it is necessary to look beyond “black and white,” using the example that she is Caribbean and not just black.
Students were encouraged to discuss their personal stories and opinions, ask questions, and challenge points made by others in an open setting.
Those who attended were also given the opportunity to break into smaller groups and discuss different aspects of the issue they felt were important.
Meera Chander, vice-president (finance) for Carleton University Students’ Association and one of the events organizers, said, “Splitting up into the smaller groups allowed people to open up a little bit more and talk more comfortably amongst everyone.”
In the open discussion students spoke about everything from racism at school, ways to combat racism, multiculturalism, the “race card,” and the importance of not generalizing races.
Many students tried to suggest ways of fighting racism on campus with ideas such as having multicultural days, and incorporating the topic of racism into academic classes.
Roughly a dozen students attended the task force.
“Although it was a smaller crowd, what was great was that everyone was so interactive and we heard opinions from everyone,” Chander said.
“This was just to see where everyone stood,” Chander said of the event.
She said racism is an issue that needs to be talked about publicly more often and it is important to “bring out the awareness that it does still exist and that we do need to work towards getting rid of it.”