On Nov. 6 and 7, Residential Education and Living (REAL), Unity House and Office of Volunteers for Community Service (OVCS) orchestrated the Tunnel of Oppression for the second year. The Tunnel was created in the basement of Morrison and took students on a half-hour journey where they were shown a variety of moving examples of adversity that exist on our college campus and throughout society.
What was the reason behind making the tunnel? Frida Rodriguez, head of REAL explained that, “Both years we had a group of students really eager to present something that they felt needed more exposure here on campus.” The issues of gender, sexuality, race, ability, homelessness, rape culture and bullying are all highlighted in the Tunnel and were greeted with widespread exposure and support by student-run clubs and groups on campus.
The journey started in the Morrison common room with a narrated video. The poem, “To This Day” by Shane Koyczan, was read over the video. The poet exemplified the adversity during childhood that he faced and details the bullying that others at his age experienced. Immediately, the video set the mood for the Tunnel and many were emotionally moved before the tunnel even began.
The Tunnel continued downstairs to the basement where different displays of media portrayed the issues that students on our campus face. Posters, videos, pictures, fact sheets and even a skit were all used to get the point across and engage the viewer.
During the Tunnel, one came face to face with the fears and causes of anxiety that students at this school face on a daily basis. As students, we are immediately shown that we aren’t alone with these issues and that everyone faces adversity. “The Tunnel is a space that allows for conversations and a space to challenge people and challenge their views and that is the goal,” Frida said.
The presentations on the walls were all paired with statements asking the participant if they had ever faced the type of discrimination that is being presented.
Statements such as: “If I have children and a successful career, few people will ask me how I balance my professional and private lives” and, “When I apply for jobs, my legal right to work in this country probably will not be questioned,” prompted the participants to take a bead depending on how they felt.
Each clear bead represented a time that one had been faced with adversity in these different situations, while colored beads represented times that one had been in the more privileged position. For either of these statements, if one answered yes, one would take a colored bead.
By the end, each participant had a string of beautiful beads. Depending upon the beaded string, one could see just how much some people go through—hardships that some of us as students can only imagine—and how truly blessed we are as students to even have a couple colored beads.
Particularly moving parts of the Tunnel were the drawings, poems and essays written by elementary and middle school students from The Integral Day Charter School in Norwich, CT. They described their personal experiences with bullying with often shocking and heartbreaking experiences. The injustices such as problems of limited ability, sexism and global issues of modern slavery and human trafficking were all shown in video and poster form.
Images of students holing signs of comments they had received during their life that affected them, ranging from rape culture to sexual orientation. “She’s an easy target, “said one. “You can’t be both gay and Muslim,” displayed another. The Tunnel brought these issues to light, prompting participants to question their ways.
Many students felt extremely moved by the Tunnel. One student said, “The Tunnel really inspired me to want to become involved more and to try to change my own involvement in issues on campus. I never realized how much people could struggle with.”
Another student expressed her own thoughts about how much our campus is seen as “extremely homogeneous,” and that the Tunnel proves that it is not; that all people face adversity whether they realize it or not.
“Everyone has their own experience and based on each person’s background, they go through life in a very different way. There are different types of reactions that people leave with and there is no distinct group consensus.”
Rodriguez explained, “It is a varying degree of process, a lot of it is internal and what you learn from it.”
What about the future of the Tunnel?
“We are hoping to do it next year! We have had a lot of people ask if we are doing the Tunnel in the spring, so that may be a possibility,” commented Rodriguez. If you are interested, please email Frida.Rodriguez@conncoll.edu. •
