Photo by: Charles Ng

It is something that we have been taught about since grade school. We were told that we should be kind to one another, treat each other with respect and share the green crayon. We were told not to hit or call each other names, and putting mud in Suzy’s hair was also a bad idea.

The sad thing is that all of this does happen, and it is happening all around us.

This past week, the Social Justice Living and Learning Community put on a program to help students on campus better understand the situation at hand.

Last Tuesday, from 5-9 p.m., the Tunnel of Oppression was open for students to tour. As groups stood outside the tunnel, waiting to be led through, they had the chance to read stories of incidents of violence that had occurred throughout the United States.

Once inside, each group was led through the tunnel by their guide. At each stop the group viewed a short 30-second reenactment of a case of oppression. The different incidents included issues of violence, both verbal and physical, toward people of different racial groups, social status and sexual preference.

Following the tour, participants were able to talk both with each other and with a counselor about their specific reactions to what they saw. Megan Kelly, one of the students to go through the tunnel, thought that the project was “definitely an eye-opening experience to all who saw it.”