Tunnel of Oppression Seeks to Educate

CJ Guion | Editor – In – Chief

This week marks the second time that the university will be celebrating a new annual tradition of Diversity Week. This also marks the second year of the Tunnel of Oppression, which is a feature event of the week. The Tunnel of Oppression is a simulated tour of oppressive situations which many students face sometimes on a daily basis.

The three day tour is a co-sponsored event hosted by Multicultural Student Affairs and the Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity, with assistance from the GLBT Center and Women’s Center.

The tour gives students, faculty, and staff various opportunities to experience different forms of oppression. Different students from around campus act out different scenes, and students have the opportunity to view multimedia slide shows of actual oppressive images that have been found throughout campus in past years.

This year the specific types of oppression which will be highlighted includes body image, homophobia, relationship violence, race, and disabilities. Students who are offended by anything that they witness in the tunnel have the option to exit at any time.

At the conclusion of the tour students are able to reveal emotions they faced during the tour and have the opportunity to commit to stand up against oppressive behavior on campus. This year, the tour includes a debriefing session which will ensure that all tour participants leave empowered.

The Tunnel of Oppression is performed at various universities around the country with hopes to unite diverse campus communities. The tour will end on Wednesday, February 21st. To check for tour availability visit the Multicultural Student Affairs website at oied.ncsu.edu/msa.