17 Faculty Members Attend White Privilege Conference
Members of the Exonian faculty attended the White Privilege Conference (WPC) in Philadelphia from April 13-17. While there, they participated in workshops and activities that aimed to help them engage in meaningful dialogue around issues of oppression and social equity. According to the WPC’s mission statement, these workshops hope to empower and equip individuals to work for justice through self and social transformation. The conference examined challenging concepts of privilege and oppression and offered solutions and team building strategies to work toward a more equitable world.
Faculty members, who attended by choice, included Muslim Student Association adviser Khadijah Campbell, mathematics instructors Catherine Holden and Emma Phillips, English instructors Barbara Desmond and Mercy Carbonell, Assistant Director of College Counseling Michelle Thompson-Taylor, Dean of Multicultural Affairs Rosanna Salcedo, Office of Multicultural Affairs intern Danielle Lucero, Chair of Theater and Art Department Robert Richards, Lamont Gallery intern Olivia Knauss, Chair of the science department Alison Hobbie, modern language instructor Evelyn Christoph, history instructor Erik Wade, health instructor Michelle Soucy and members of the admission team Michael Gary, Porter Hayes and Eleanor Down.
“It was a very powerful and emotional conference in which everyone who attended had a lot to do with self-reflection.”
The conference offered over 125 different workshops and 4 keynote speakers. Lucero particularly enjoyed a workshop that discussed the importance of and the barriers to having ethnic studies in secondary schools. “It re-ignited my passion for Ethnic Studies and also solidified my decision to really push PEA to include an Ethnic studies course as a requirement for all students,” Lucero said.
Lucero applauded the group of Exeter faculty who attended due to their commitment to empowering and equipping their students. “The objective was to help understand differences and to understand ourselves,” she said. “I think the teachers that went learned that we have to examine our own privileges if we are to help our students understand their identities and enact change.” The conference provided an opportunity for faculty to reexamine the role that white privilege plays on campus.
According to Wade, Exeter, at its roots, was built on the principles of white privilege, and for many generations students felt that attending Exeter would grant them a “golden ticket” to a brighter future and prestigious institutions. “Disturbing this idea and shifting to a culture that promotes and promises that a student will graduate with quality education and primed for active citizenship is a change that can only be catalyzed by a simultaneous administrative push to get students to transform who and what an Exonian is, which tends to be a rather narrow, elitist archetype,” he said. “I am hopeful that this representation and idea will change.”
Lucero discussed what he learned about the role of white privilege at the Exeter community. “Most students deny its existence,” she said. “And for some [students] they understand white privilege as always being a negative thing. Often times, privilege is only talked about in terms of ‘white privilege.’”
Richards said that Exeter needs time to discuss and truly invest in the history, meaning and the ongoing legacies of white privilege. “Keep raising awareness and listen to all voices with respect,” he said. “Judgement and blame haven’t proven to be very effective. It’s messy stuff, we’re not skilled at it, so therefore we’re not comfortable with that fear,” he said, “Our fear of mistakes is a straight jacket—it keeps us disengaged.”
Lucero agreed, observing that few students at Exeter are willing to make a stand to improve Exeter’s culture as it relates to white privilege and expressing hope that more Exonians will endeavor to exit their comfort zones. “I have only seen those that already understand the concept show up to events that are meant to help students deconstruct and understand their various privileges.” she said. “I would challenge the student body and the faculty to attend an event that they would normally not think about attending.”
Afro-Latino Exonian Society (ALES) member upper Jaime Nunez thinks that white privilege plays a role in the hiring process at Exeter. “I would like to see more teachers of color here on campus,” he said. “This conference did a pretty good job of shining a light on white privilege and keeping everybody aware and in check.”
Upper Tayo Zenger felt that every student is privileged to an extent. “To be honest, privilege at Exeter is something hard to determine, but I think everybody at Exeter has privilege,” he said. “I hope we can learn the importance of recognizing privilege and how to handle and use it to help others.”
Lower Amanda Sherwood agreed that everyone on campus gains privileges because they have had the opportunity to attend Exeter. “I haven’t really felt discrimination or mistreatment as a person of color but I know that some people feel alone in their experiences and I hope these teachers could at least aid them in finding other people to share similar experience,” she said.
For Lucero, the WPC conference provided a deep and lasting emotional impact.
“I definitely cried more than I would like to admit, but it was so empowering to be surrounded by like minded individuals that are striving and struggling to make changes in their various institutions,” she said. “It was a very powerful and emotional conference in which everyone who attended had a lot to do with self-reflection. Everybody allowed themselves to be vulnerable with people they were meeting for the first time and may never meet again. I hope more faculty attend the conference next year,” she said.