Faculty Attend White Privilege Conference

Ten Academy instructors attended the White Privilege Conference (WPC), an international event with over 1,500 high school and college students participants, from March 20 to 23 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

According to their website, the conference examines structures of privilege and oppression at educational institutions. By offering solutions and team building strategies to operate in a classroom environment, the conference aids attendees in promoting a more equitable world.

Some Academy instructors, including Mathematics Instructor Panama Geer, have been wanting to attend the conference for several years. “I’ve been hearing good things about the WPC for years, so I’d been wanting to go for a while,” Geer said. “My particular reason for going was simply to learn. For me, being as inclusive as possible as both a teacher and a human being is essential.”

After Director of Equity and Inclusion Stephanie Bramlett and Dean of Faculty Ellen Wolff informed faculty of the conference in an email, Mathematics Instructors Kevin Bartkovich, Daniel Garvey, Geer, Jose Molina and Filip Sain, as well as Physical Education Instructors Melissa Pacific and Joshua Peterson signed up to attend. Office of Multicultural Affairs Administrative Intern Jessica Alvarez, Associate Dean of Multicultural Affairs Hadley Camilus and Music Department Chair Kristofer Johnson also joined the list, bringing the number of total Exeter attendees up to 10.

Johnson attended the conference to promote conversation in the Exeter community. “I’ve been very interested in examining the practices of the music department through this lens, and attending the conference gave me time, framework and vocabulary to advance conversations with my colleagues here and elsewhere on these topics,” he said. “Attending the White Privilege Conference invites you to start by reflecting on your own circumstance, experience and privilege.”

The conference consisted of workshops, keynote speakers and panels over the course of three days. “There are a multitude of workshops on topics relating to privilege, whiteness as a potentially positive and anti-racist identity, social justice in action, examinations of practices and curriculum through this lens,” Johnson said.

Pacific expressed that the conference exceeded expectations. “[It was] one of the best conferences I have been to and I know this because I was engaged all day,” Pacific said. “Not once did I pick up my phone and look at work emails or text messages.”

After attending three workshops on intersectionality, improper use of statistics and using love to combat white supremacy, Geer returned to campus wanting to learn more. “Frankly, I’m still processing the conference and I came home with more books that I want to read and more that I want to learn. I’m excited to get to that,” she said.

While the conference prompted valuable discussion, prep Diwura Adesanya questioned whether the workshops would effectively enact change. “White privilege is often present and most people with white privilege don’t realize they have it,” Adesanya said. “The conference is to show Exeter is doing something, but I haven’t exactly seen it showing up in class that they’re more sensitive to student treatment.”

Prep Shalom Headly is confident that the conference will make a difference in faculty and student relations, however. “The conference can teach different teachers about inequalities that many people face and the workplace and in the social place,” Headly said. “Most people in my classes try to be as sensitive and knowledgeable about certain things as possible, and people aren’t afraid to be corrected when they make a mistake … I think that creates a very safe and comfortable environment.”

In addition to the WPC, Headly hopes that Academy instructors will consider attending a conference on heteronormativity in the future. “We live in a heteronormative society, and not many teachers realize that they are being ignorant when talking about things, and sometimes, even in that ignorance, they really make a student feel uncomfortable,” he said.

Bartkovich concluded that he is optimistic about change, recalling a quote he distinctly remembered from the conference: “Change moves at the speed of trust.”

Johnson voiced his gratitude for the opportunity to attend the conference. “It is not always comfortable, but I feel fortunate to have been given time and space to work on this,” he said. “It is important to me to advance my own teaching and the work of the department to serve all of our students more fully.”