Matt Woodward
Contributing Writer
On Monday Nov. 21, the Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) hosted its third #WooTalk since the program first found its way onto campus this past summer. #WooTalks are dialogues about different issues facing Wooster or the world and deal with the themes of campus climate, justice and diversity. HerBrina Shepherd, the program coordinator for the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs, saidthat #WooTalks are meant to “give people a space to talk about what’s going on. They don’t have to be about current events, but it just so happens that the last three have been.”
The first #WooTalk occurred this past summer in response to various instances of violence and discrimination in the United States. This #WooTalk provided a space for Wooster students who were here over the summer to process various events and begin the healing process. The second #WooTalk also focused on recent issues of injustice in the United States but was designed to be a conversation about how these issues have specifically impacted the Wooster community.
According to Dean Scott Brown’s campus-wide email description of the event, the latest talk was designed to be an open dialogue about how to have difficult conversations about the presidential election and recent issues of injustice over Thanksgiving Break. These conversations range from dinner-table conversations with relatives of differing political viewpoints to conversations with roommates.
Though this was the planned theme for the dialogue, it really was centered on the process of healing and moving forward from the results of the presidential election. As a general rule of thumb, #WooTalks are left open-ended so that the conversation can be about what those in attendance need it to be about.
Nate Addington, interim director of Interfaith Campus Ministries said, “We live in a world today where it’s very easy to see people but increasingly more difficult to actually know them. I can share an article on Facebook or tweet out my opinions but social media isn’t a true version of a person. At best it’s a polished and filtered reflection or image. The #WooTalks program forces us to interact with ‘The Other.’”
It requires us to step outside of ourselves and look someone in the eye. But it also requires us to look into our own selves so that we can articulate our feelings, emotions and values without the crutch of a social media post to hide behind.”
The #WooTalks program is expanding right now and the CDI staff hopes that it will eventually become a program less centered on current events.
The dialogues it creates are important with or without direct prompting and in the future the program coordinators of CDI hope to collaborate with student groups on campus to continue having challenging and necessary dialogues on campus.
If any students are interested in being a part of the future of the #WooTalks program, they should contact HerBrina Shepherd to set up a meeting or pitch any ideas over email.