On Monday, April 2, the student-led discussion group, Talk About It!, presented the first in a series of events to promote dialogue among Fordham students. Its first event, Race and Fordham: What It Is and What It Could Be, encouraged the discussion of race relations within the Fordham community. Over 120 students gathered in O'Keefe Commons to listen and voice their opinions about this important issue. Race and Fordham was sponsored by a variety of groups including United Student Government, Commuting Students Association, Mock Trial, Academia Hispania, Asian Cultural Exchange, Women in Communications, Campus Ministry, Fordham faculty, the Athletics Department, the Dean's Office and the Office of Student Leadership and Community Development.
An introductory address, entitled "First Things First," opened the discussion. The speaker was Felicia Reid, FCRH '07 and the coordinator of Race and Fordham. She first addressed the current situation at Fordham.
"There is a disconnect between students, faculty and administration…a tension around race," Reid said. Then she explained her reasoning for organizing this event.
"Instead of building walls, we need to build bridges. We need to change the way we look at race. We begin by talking, talking with one other and not at one another."
After Reid finished her remarks, the next part of the night, "Freedom of Speech," commenced. A group of student presenters shared their experiences of relations with other Fordham students, faculty and staff to the audience. One student explained how a Fordham staff member assumed he was an athlete due to the color of his skin. Mohsin Din, FCRH '09, described his experiences as an American Muslim and misconceptions Fordham students and professors sometimes have about Muslims.
"We all have to realize we are collective humanity," Din told the audience.
Zolia Mendez, FCRH '07, talked about the negative comments one RA made at a RA diversity forum.
"As an employee of the University and fellow RA, I was very hurt and visibly upset by the person's negative comments," Mendez said.
Other student speakers related friends' hurtful comments, expressed guilt about stereotyping, discussed the divide between Fordham and the local community, and described struggles with internal racism.
For "Divide and Conquer," all the students in the audience were split into 12 discussion groups with both student and faculty moderators. "The purpose of this discussion group is to have a constructive conversation about race at Fordham," student moderator Stephanie Crane, FCRH '09, said. The students discussed what they thought about the speakers' presentations and whether they agreed with the statements they made. The students also shared their own personal experiences of race relations at Fordham with the other members of their group. Finally, the students were asked to think about solutions to improve whatever problems they felt Fordham was experiencing.
During the group "Speak Out, One Mic," two students from each group were able to share their group's improvement suggestions with the rest of the audience. Shana Gibney, FCRH '09, was one of the student speakers for her group.
"We [the group] suggested some kind of race class or race forum for all Fordham students," Gibney said.
Many students encouraged a required class on race as part of the core curriculum, a race forum for incoming freshman, and more events focused on race issues. Other suggestions were more general: awareness of internal racism, engagement in dialogue, participation in different clubs and events, and increased comfort with being uncomfortable. To deal with Fordham's relationship with the surrounding Bronx community, some students suggested a committee on community relations, where both Bronx residents and Fordham inhabitants could discuss concerns.
After the group presentations, Reid closed the event with "Closing Time: Retrospection, Reflection and Reminding." She emphasized the importance of the continued dialogue through attendance and participation in future events. "Talk About It! is students reaching out to our school, through open and honest discussion, to tackle the issue of race at Fordham," Reid said. "But together, we will confront race, how it affects us as students, and how we can be a better Fordham in the future by bringing together students, faculty and administration in one place at one time."
So far this strategy of discussion seems to be working. Many students found the event to be an educational experience.
"What the presenters said really made me think about the race issues Fordham does and doesn't deal with on a daily basis. It was a real eye-opener to hear what others had to say about their experiences," Maggie Martin, FCRH '09 said. "I think events like this are great for Fordham because they are a great way to learn about important issues outside of the classroom."
With additional Talk About It! events planned, including an upcoming event on April 17, students will hopefully continue this process of learning from one another .
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