For one night, Broward Hall was turned into a home for hatred and oppression. But at the end, the hosts had the answers.
Last night, the Inter-Residence Hall Association divided the hall into six “hate rooms” for the Tunnel of Oppression: immigration, religion, evolution of slavery, genocide, sexual orientation and self-image.
“The goal of the Tunnel of Oppression is to evaluate present causes of oppression and to give help to people who are seeking it,” said freshman history and English major Kathleen Pait. “We want to break down the barriers between those who suffer oppression daily and those who don’t experience it at all.”
Broward Recreation Room opened with a “wall of oppression,” where students were invited to describe a time when they had faced oppression and then tape an index card to the back wall of the room. Students were then taken in groups to the individual hate rooms.
The tunnel opened with the immigration room and narrowed to more personal topics, eventually ending with rooms addressing sexual orientation and self-image.
“I wanted to do something that would really hit people close to their hearts,” said junior health science major James Suridis, who planned the sexual orientation room, including the photographs, actors and scripts.
“I hope that the students will take out the importance of preventing oppression,” he said. “It’s about being educated about oppression, recognizing it and doing your part to stop it.”
