(Photo: Frances Meng-Frecker)
On Friday, February 10, a group of students, faculty, and staff gathered together to discuss diversity and oppression on our campus. This was the final event for Regis University’s Anti-Oppression week. Everyone joined together in a classroom on the third floor of Main Hall. There was a total of approximately 25 people that filled the classroom. This event was called “Snapshots of a Vision: Building a Liberated Community.”
To create an illustration for the discussion, there was an artist named Susanne Van Der Meer. She drew a mural to represent the conversation. To learn more about this artist visit her website at www.siftvisuals.com.
A safe place was created for everyone to share their experiences and talk about oppression on campus and in our community. These conversations and safe places are necessary for students, faculty, and staff.
Some of the topics of conversation were: diversity, liberation, community, democracy, religion, race, advocacy, allyship, violence, and “how ought we to live?” The main goal of this was to start the discussion. Davion Rodriguez, a junior here at Regis, said, “I urge all of you to have that imperative conversation and address these issues. If you do not, then the next person will not, and the next person. And that is detrimental to what we are trying to do. I just urge you to have these conversations. Please.”
How do we liberate ourselves and break down oppressive structures?
“Respect means to see. And the goal for us is to be seen.”
Frances Meng-Frecker Staff Reporter