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On-campus workshop
One interesting thing I observed in our on-campus workshop is when people tried to find the solution to class issues at Bryn Mawr. Most people suggested that we should have some open talks/ platforms about class issues in class or Wellness program. Yes, it's right that we should fix the issues by confronting rather than avoiding talking about them. However, it raises the next questions for us: Should we make the talk voluntary or coercive? If it's voluntary, we still have some people attend this kind of talk. However, I guess they are all open-minded people who are willing to solve the conflicts between different classes. Class issues are created by some narrow-minded individuals who stick themselves to certain catergories and isolate themselves from the rest of the community. I believe if we talk about class issues in some coercive environments such as in the classroom in which everyone is forced to participate, it may produce better results.
Comments
Workshop Afterthoughts
I appreciated a workshop participant making the observation that the people who show up to these kinds of workshops already know and care about touchy subjects like class. The thing that we need to do is reach a broader audience. The rude customers I deal with at work probably aren't the ones who care to show up at our E-Sem workshop, let alone acknowledge their own behavior. But I was really happy with our workshop and it was great knowing that we talked to friends and even strangers about a topic so sensitive like socioeconomic status. After the workshop, I continued talking about our workshop conversations with a friend and we started scheming up some ideas to find the "broader audience" that needed to hear us out. It's weird because I was thinking about what Nancy previously commented about: Should we have mandatory classes where poeple have to learn about subjects that we delve into in our own E-Sem class? I feel like conversations about class occurred openly in my household but I realize that people can go through much of their lives without ever talking about the subject. Is it the responsibility of the college to teach a kid about the people they will encounter who are from different walks of life, or is this something that parents should choose to talk about or not to talk about with their own children?