2008 Woodie Awards
'PostSecret'
'Secret postcard' project aims to erase stereotypes
Christina Chea, Staff Writer
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Students gathered around the postcard secrets even as they were being put up on Friday, Nov. 9 at the entrance to the HUB dining hall. One secret, supposedly written by the bike thief, said the money from the bikes paid for his books. It also read, "They'll never catch me because I'm white."
The discussion for the "PostSecret" project was held Tuesday, Nov. 13 in the HUB multipurpose room.
This event was coordinated by the Act Six program to discuss the stereotypical "secrets" anonymously submitted by students the week before Cultural Awareness Week.
Act Six senior Victoria Trang and freshman Lindee Halley directed the event. Sophomore Tim Assad and dean of the chapel Terry McGonigal were also part of the panel discussion.
"We brought [stereotypes] to the surface and asked, 'What can we do?'" Halley said. "It may be hurtful but we need to think of how we can deal with this."
In one of the posted secrets, the discussion panel was questioned about their strategies in guiding the discussion and the purpose of the post secrets program.
"Everyone is quick to say they don't have stereotypes when they do," Trang said. "Once we communicate and build relationships, maybe we will break down the stereotypes."
After most of the seats were filled, the discussion began with a small activity.
Students were split into groups and each received a large piece of paper with a word or phrase, such as "terrorist", "housekeeper", "gangs" and "lousy drivers." Each group wrote the stereotypes they associated with those words.
The panel then showed video clips of how stereotypes are portrayed in the entertainment business, including movies, comedies and even Disney. The group was asked what stereotypes were apparent in the clips.
Some of the answers included "Italians like to cook," "white people are pansies and drive nice cars," "black people are thugs" and "Native Americans are sensitive to nature."
It was hard for some students to stifle their giggles when certain stereotypes were reported aloud. The question of whether it was all right to laugh at stereotypes was brought up.
"Are we perpetuating these stereotypes by laughing at the comedians?" senior Betty Gardner asked.
Another video showed how stereotypes are so deeply embedded into culture that they affect children.
In an experiment using pictures of men, children generally distinguished the Asian man as a "good guy" compared to the Middle Eastern man. They also distinguished a white male as a teacher and a black male as a criminal.
Towards the end of the discussion, McGonigal gave his input on the topic of stereotypes.
"I hope each of us will be more willing to consider if there are attitudes in us that demean the dignity or humanity of others," McGonigal said.
The goal of the discussion was to acknowledge we have stereotypes, and then to get past them, Halley said.
"It's a continuous journey and not really a reaching point," Trang said. "People seem to search for a 'mathematical solution' to [stereotypes] but it's more like art. There's no reaching point."
Contact Christina Chea at christina.chea@whitworthian.com.
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