It’s time for this year’s Tunnel of Oppression. Do you need to practice recognizing what different forms of oppression look like? Do you have a social justice issue that’s close to your heart? This year’s Tunnel of Oppression will challenge students, faculty and staff as they observe different forms of prejudice, victim-blaming, toxic classroom environments and willful ignorance. This year’s Tunnel of Oppression will be piloting two new rooms focused on Islamophobia and Xenophobia, as well as exploring other forms of oppression in light of recent events taking place at campuses across the country.

Tours run from 11 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. and 4:00-8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 15 and Wednesday, March 16, 2016. Check your privilege before joining the #TOO16 Tour Guides on a journey of intersectionality. See how oppression can operate in student-teacher relationships. Witness how alienation can start before classes even begin, and see how learning environments can turn hostile with just a few words. Be the silent observer as a sexual assault survivor is accused by friends of being responsible for her own assault, and look on as students process the implications of racial tension.

At the end of the Tunnel Rooms, facilitators will lead each tour group through a debriefing discussion of what they have witnessed. Participants will have the opportunity to process the interpersonal interactions and their connections to the larger cultural values and stereotypes that fuel each example. Finally, tour groups will have the opportunity to spend time in the Empowerment Room, designed to give every participant some concrete action steps to take with them as they exit the Tunnel Experience.

Are YOU ready for the Tunnel of Oppression?