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BY APOLLINE BERTY

In print | November 15, 2007

This month class activists and other organizers have collaborated on a number of events for Class Awareness Month. These events included the Opening Panel on Thursday, Nov. 1 and the “Class, Ethnicity and Education” Ring Discussion on Thursday, Nov. 8.

There was also the opportunity to discuss the issue at the IntraClass Dialogue that took place on Friday, Nov. 9 and consisted of a first part where the participants were separated into three groups based on class and then reunited for the second part, which was an open discussion.

Andrea Cornejo ‘10, one of the organizers of CAM emphasized the importance of dialogue in bringing forward the sometimes not so obvious issues surrounding class differences. "It is difficult to talk about class because one can’t see it; it’s not physical, not [tangible] like race. So, it makes it much easier to go without being heard or discussed or anything of the sort. With the IntraClass dialogue, along with the other activities that we’re having during Class Awareness Month, we’re trying to promote dialogue, and through dialogue, awareness," Cornejo said.

The IntraClass Dialogue has been taking place for the past two years. This year for the first time, the participants were separated according to class into a privileged group, a straddling group and a working class group. “We wanted to first of all have a place where both privileged students would feel their privilege and where students that feel they are not privileged, or come from a working class, could talk about the issues that pertain to them, that perhaps others would not relate to and would cause discomfort,” Cornejo said. “We also wanted to have a place where everyone could come in contact and talk about issues in general, whatever they may be, having already discussed things that perhaps others wouldn’t feel comfortable discussing.”

Lauren Smith ’08, who participated in the dialogue, felt that the structure of the dialogue was constructive. “I thought it was productive. It was good I think to split the groups up before bringing them back together for dialogue,” Smith said.

Rory Sykes ’08, another organizer of the event, explained the breakdown of the three groups. There were many students in attendance representing the privileged class group, some representing straddling class group and only two non-facilitating students representing the working class group. “For the working class group, I was a facilitator. My co-facilitator was there as well, and only two other students showed up and both of them were organizers of class awareness month. So we were shocked,” Sykes said.

The first year that a dialogue on class awareness took place, it was meant only for people who identified as belonging to the working class. Sykes suggested that the diminishing number of participants for the working class group was perhaps attributable to the new structure creating a weaker feeling of comfort. “Maybe people didn’t feel as comfortable showing up to something … framed in that way, that seemed … less of a safe space perhaps. Also it was a Friday afternoon, it started at 4, so maybe that dealt with it,” Sykes said.

However, Sykes was very pleased with the turnout in the open group discussion, the second part of the IntraClass Dialogue. “Overall, I was really pleased with the IntraClass dialogue, it was held in a Kohlberg classroom and it was full, there were people on the outside of the circle, sitting on the floor. It was really exciting,” Sykes said.

The open group discussion was facilitated by Registrar Martin Warner, a supporter of Class Awareness Month since its first appearance on campus two years ago. “seemed appropriate for this position because he could relate to the topic in some way,” explained Cornejo.

The discussions centered around how class can change depending on the environment, between home and college, as well as around the guilt that accompanies privilege. “I don’t think we talked enough in depth about exactly what ways we can be allies, in what ways people who do still have guilt from not doing anything about the current situation, what could we do to help,” Cornejo said. The event was supposed to take place from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. but lasted an hour more, finishing around 7:15 p.m. According to both Cornejo and Sykes, there will be further dialogues this month, one focusing on finding a way for privileged individuals to assist less privileged ones. The other would be another closed discussion group for the working class.

Another feature of Class Awareness Month is the Class Shock cloth in Shane Lounge where anybody can anonymously post their responses on issues pertaining to class.

“I think the class shock wall was a good alternative to actually attending the discussions that they hosted this month,” Alysha Newton ’10 said. “Some people may feel strongly about class but may not actually feel comfortable in a specific setting. The class shock wall provided an opportunity for people to get their opinion out there, get their opinions across, and see what other people think and respond in an anonymous way.”

Disclosure note: Rory Sykes is a columnist for The Phoenix, but had no role in the production of this article.

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