Bethel Student Government: United Cultures of Bethel
The primary responsibility of our organization was to organize and oversee campus-wide events and small group meetings that engage the student body in anti-racist critical thinking and action with a team of other student directors from a range of backgrounds.
United Cultures of Bethel (UCB) is a branch of Bethel Student Government. UCB has six subgroups: Asian Christian Fellowship, Black Student Union, Voz Latinx, MixedLife, First Nations, and European Americans in Solidarity (EAS).
EAS is a group of white students with a two-fold mission: (1) To deconstruct, develop, challenge, and foster understanding of students’ personal racial and cultural identities in regards to whiteness and being European American. (2) To understand how our identities fit into a broader picture: how they impact social change and how we can better operate in solidarity with others who are racially, ethnically, and/or culturally different from us.
event coordination
The two main events I organized were the Healing Roots Workshop and the Deconstructing Whiteness presentation featuring Dr. Robin DiAngelo.
Deconstructing Whiteness featuring Dr. Robin DiAngelo
Held on November 1, 2017, this event in unpacked what whiteness is, what it means, and the social realities that accompany it in a two-hour session including a presentation an intermittent breakout groups. Participants examined the “hidden internal assumptions and contradictions” associated with whiteness that perpetuate systems of injustice in their personal life and systemically. The goal of the event was to engage the student body to think critically about whiteness, deconstruct their racial identities, and learn how they can participate in anti-racist practices. Ultimately, we “deconstruct whiteness” to become more effective in our work to bring about justice and equity. The event had 20 student volunteers and over 300 attendees.
Healing Roots Workshop
This event helped students understand their own (or others’) connection to European American heritage, allowing them to develop an understanding of the European American cultural identity. This workshop provides an introductory look at the interaction of European American heritage and whiteness. In short, Healing Roots: European American Identity and Culture workshop will help students develop a healthy European American identity, better understand structural racism, and discuss various cultural ways of knowing. The 8-hour workshop had 15 attendees.
