On March 20th and 21st, an absolutely amazing and impactful program was held here at Winona State University. We know so because these were the comments made to us from those who chose to attend. The Tunnel of Oppression put on by many of the diversity clubs at Winona State University and co-sponsored by the Inclusion and Diversity Office of Winona State University was a huge success and affected everyone who came.
The topics discussed included such emotional topics and informational topics including but not limited to Abolishing the “N” Word, Human Sex Trafficking, The Plight of the Hmong, Abilities and Disabilities, and the Impact of Hate. These are topics that are real and are in our everyday lives. Dare I say that all one has to do is walk throughout our community to hear a person saying the “N” word or perpetrating an act of hate or oppression. This event was meant to not only raise awareness, but also get people talking about these issues, a talk that in our eyes is long overdue. We realize the comfort zone would’ve been challenged, but this challenging is extremely important, lest we go back to segregation and slavery of all kinds.
The sad part is the lack of coverage provided to this event by the local media. In our opinion, the complete disregard shown in concerns to the coverage of this event goes to show the amount of discrimination and oppression that is still present within our community. We are completely disenfranchised by the fact that a television station from Rochester, KTTC, which is an hour away, would chose to cover this event, while our own media who in all likely hood would’ve have only had to walk a short distance chose to not do so. While we understand that there are other important events. It should be noted that these are real life issues that must be discussed.
To KTTC in Rochester, thank you for your incredible willingness to cover such an important event. To those of you who attended the event, listened to our discussion, and had the impact of our presentations make a change in your lives and help you reflect on your own personal abilities, thank you. To the local media and everyone else, we say thank you for nothing.