An Open Forum discussion about the white supremacist attack, which occurred last month in Charlottesville, Virginia, was hosted by the Global Engagement Team and the Office of International Student Life on Thursday 7th September at Old Main.
A diverse group of students and faculty attended the forum. Guidelines were laid out in advance asking speakers to commit to learning rather than debating, and to sharing information in a respectful and sensitive manner. Attendees then discussed several topics, such as the intensive media coverage of the Charlottesville attack, the implications of such coverage for white supremacists, and the attack’s effects on the country as a whole. Students and faculty also expressed their own thoughts and opinions about the attack and how they felt students might respond to a similar incident on Augustana’s campus.
Coordinating the event were sophomore Aditi Marella and junior Jingwen Yang, Co-Chairs of Educational Programming for the Global Engagement Team.
Asked prior to the event why the Charlottesville attacks were chosen to be the topic of the forum, CO-Chair of Educational Programming for GET Aditi Marella said, “This attack displayed an extraordinary level of hate in a very public way. It affected everyone, and speaks to everyone, which is all members of the community were invited to attend the forum.” Also prior to the forum, Assistant Director of the Office of International Student Life Danny Kim said, “It’s our duty as administrators to provide opportunities for students to grow both intellectually and morally. This is an opportunity for people to say what needs to be said. It will be a time of discomfort, but also healing.” Marella agreed, saying “We want to know what people are thinking and provide a safe space for them to speak up for what they believe in.”
Although the discussion was primarily an exchange between students, several members of the faculty were present as well. Commenting on their attendance, Associate Professor and Chair of Political Science Christopher Whitt said that it was important for educators to work alongside students in unpacking heavy and complicated issues. He spoke of the different reactions people have to white supremacy, hate, or any other ways in which people seek to divide others, saying, “We walk individual paths in life. It would be good if as many people as possible took stands against hate and division but we have to live with the reality that not everyone will get involved with the same intensity.” As to the success of the forum, he said, “The purpose of the forum was to help one another decipher what has happened/ is happening and that goal was certainly met. I think this is a good part of a bigger picture when it comes to the Augustana community making progress in realizing its full potential regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
Assistant Professor of Political Science Brian Lovato also approved of the enthusiasm with which students engaged with the discussion, but felt that it was a dialogue which needed to be continued on a wider scale. He said, “It’s important to prepare for the possibility of such incidents at Augustana, but white supremacy doesn’t just happen on college campuses. Therefore, the students who attended the forum need to carry on the conversation with their classmates, professors, families and beyond.”
Freshman Nadia Ayensah said that participating in the forum helped her discover other peoples’ perspectives and provided a contrast to what she felt was a narrow portrayal of the attack by a majority of media sources. She said, “More discussions like this are necessary because we need to get to the truth behind this kind of incident. No one really thinks about whether this could happen to us, but conversations like this can prepare us for it.” Freshman David Langum felt that how students responded to the forum itself was an indication of how they might respond to a similar violent outbreak on campus. “I feel like there’s power in our numbers. I feel like we would show up in numbers to do the right thing.”