The Open Race Panel was the first dialogue session I attended at Stockton. It took place on November 2, 2015 at the Campus Center Theatre. I am involved with the club F.E.M.A.L.E.S., a student organization dedicated to the empowerment of women, and they directed me to attend the panel in place of our weekly meeting. I do not normally like talking about race because it is a touchy subject, but being an African-American at a white-dominant university, I know I would benefit from addressing the issue head on. The panel featured a diverse mix of six students and faculty representing various backgrounds. It was interesting to see everyone on the panel’s viewpoints on the same topics, viewpoints that were so in sync with those of other civil rights leaders. From the get-go the panel was very thought provoking and it made me feel more cultured and knowledgeable about society.

The first thing they addressed was the offensive discussions on YikYak, an anonymous college campus centered social media outlet, about the role of UBSS. UBSS stands for the Unified Black Student Society. Students at Stockton anonymously posted comments on YikYak questioning the significance of an all-black club, stating that if there was a white student society it would be called racist. I was immediately overjoyed by the powerful responses of the panel as they passionately fought the white privilege induced argument. They clarified that UBSS welcomes all races and has members of various racial backgrounds. Also they made it known that there are numerous white student societies on campus from Student Senate to the Stockton Entertainment Team that are not explicitly exclusive of minorities but rather implicitly unwelcoming. The panel stated that clubs like UBSS and those for Caribbean or Latino or Asian students are especially important to have on white-dominant campuses because they provide safe havens for minority students to interact with people of their kind, enhancing the overall feeling of belonging.

Following that discussion was one on the Black Lives Matter movement. Black Lives Matter is a civil rights movement that highlights the importance of black lives in light of the recent atrocities involving police brutality, racial profiling, and killings of African-Americans. It raises awareness of the fact that media does not cover the murder of people like Trevon Martin and Michael Brown with the same air of importance as whites, suggesting black lives do not matter as much as white lives. The panel discussion focused on the vandalism of a Black Lives Matter sign in front of a nearby church. With white graffiti, someone wrote “All Lives Matter”. This quickly sparked a discussion on the panel who all agreed “All Lives Matter” is a misunderstanding and white privilege concoction. Of course all lives matter but minorities need to be raised up so that it is clear that their cultures are equally as beautiful and important as white culture.

Other topics the panel talked about included: white privilege, culture appropriating, and the history of slavery. I would encourage everyone in the student body to go to the next race panel because race is so necessary to talk about. If we can understand each other’s struggles the world can become a more tolerant and inclusive place.