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Understanding Through Experience

Arizona Daily Wildcat Photo by: AARON FARNSWORTH Computer science sophomore John Bennett acts out the role of a violently jealous boyfriend to geoscience senior Alisa Miller in Kaibab-Huachuca last night. The Tunnel of Oppression is a Residence Life program which raises awareness about racism, violence and respect.

The tall, shadowy guard grabbed a young woman and shoved her through the door.

"Get in there you Jew swine!" he shouted. "And don't forget to breathe deep!"

The woman and several others, silent and shaken, stumbled blindly into the dark room. A loud hissing sound broke the quiet. Then the lights flickered on, revealing a sign on the wall that said, "You have just been terminated for your religious beliefs."

The group of people filed out of the room and continued through the tunnel.

The second annual Tunnel of Oppression opened its three-day run last night in the basement of Kaibab-Huachuca residence hall. The Tunnel, a Residence Life project coinciding with the YWCA-run Week Without Hate, is a walk-through exhibit of images and scenarios depicting the prejudice and violence people encounter on a day-to-day basis.

Prejudice - such as two haughty girls refusing a homeless woman's humble request for spare change.

"Get a job, you fucking loser," they sneer.

Violence - such as a jealous boyfriend, enraged by his girlfriend talking to another man in her math class, and slamming the frightened girl against a wall while screaming at her, "Slut! You're worthless!"

"It's a creative, out-of-the-box way of educating people," said Matt Helm, Residence Life coordinator for multi-cultural education. "It's designed to say, 'It (oppression) is really here'."

Guided groups of 10 toured the lower level of Kaibab-Huachuca, starting in a room full of televisions showing scenes of oppression. The group was then led through several other rooms where student actors depicted scenes of homophobia, domestic violence and other social prejudices.

"We're trying to build inclusive communities of differences," Helm said. "Each one of these scenes, we believe, will build empathy from the majority to those groups who are oppressed."

Helm said that although he thought last year's event was successful, this year he promoted the Tunnel through heavier advertising to the UA and Tucson communities. Last year, students unaware of the Tunnel called police after hearing shouting and racial slurs coming from the dorm courtyard.

This year, however, many UA students and Tucson residents contacted Helm inquiring about the Tunnel, even offering to help out with the event. Helm said about 75 volunteers contributed this year, including the student actors, who are all amateurs.

Helm praised Residence Life and resident assistants for their attention to multi-cultural issues.

"There are everyday RAs and students who volunteer to help," Helm said. He added that the performers were given their scripts with just 15 minutes to prepare.

Helm believes the Tunnel experience will leave an impression on its visitors, and hoped that it would also inspire them to join the fight against hate and prejudice.

"I definitely believe it makes a difference," he said. "We want people to leave here and take an active role."

Sat Bir Kaur Khalsa, a facilitator provided by Residence Life to counsel people who had just exited the Tunnel, said most people were shocked by what they saw and heard.

"The first response is silence - they're very quiet," she said.

But eventually, Khalsa said, people open up and begin sharing their thoughts.

"It's not easy, but we need to talk about these issues."

Most students who walked through the Tunnel were stunned.

"I was scared, especially of the gas chamber. I didn't want to go in there," said Kinnari Jhaveri, a management information systems sophomore. "I was literally shocked."

Computer engineering freshman Paul Galbraith said he was impressed with the Tunnel.

"The acting jobs were really good. You actually see things that go on," he said.

Galbraith said he saw the purpose of exhibits like the Tunnel as a means of inspiring change within individuals.

"You can't stop it all at once, you have to stop it one (person) at a time," he said. "It's like a flower that starts with one seed."