To Keep Listening

Though they have been slightly more common as of late, standing ovations after assemblies are usually rare. Generally speaking, we reserve them for assemblies that the audience collectively agrees has surpassed the basic requirement of captivating a fraction of the student body’s attention for our half an hour meeting. Last Friday, Dr. William Cobb, director of the Institute for African American Studies and professor at the University of Connecticut, received a standing ovation– one I believe was beyond deserved. Dr. Cobb dichotomized a variety of issues and misconceptions surrounding race in both historical and present-day contexts. At times I felt that his points were a bit circular, perhaps even touching on elementary or repetitive; but reconsidering the situation, I fully applaud Dr. Cobb’s decision to lay out and reinforce all his points, especially while addressing an audience of almost a thousand people who range widely in terms of previous knowledge on the subject.That evening, Dr. Cobb’s follow-up forum dove into further detail before he addressed questions from the engaged audience. The forum was hosted by ALES, but Rosanna Salcedo, dean of Multicultural Affairs, did send out an email that afternoon to the entire student body to remind all Exonians of the event. Throughout the forum, I was impressed by Dr. Cobb’s ability to, point after point, elucidate detailed arguments and break down complicated nuances that stemmed far beyond the basic foundation he laid during assembly. The minor voids I felt at the end of that morning were pretty much filled by the end of the forum, but I left the room with one growing concern.The Exeter community obviously recognized Dr. Cobb as an exceptional speaker, given the standing ovation in addition to the buzz of comments I heard while filing out of the assembly hall, but the attendance of the forum suggested a telling fact. Despite Dean Salcedo’s extending invitation, the room was predominantly made up of black and some latino students. It makes sense from the fact that the subject matter of Dr. Cobb’s presentation was regarding communities of these races, and that it was hosted by ALES, but that is no excuse to see an almost invisible representation from other racial groups on campus. Dr. Cobb’s talk concerns everyone, but the racial composition of the room that night seriously questioned our student body’s comprehension that we must all be aware. There were of course exceptions to this trend, but the sweeping lack of non-black/non-latino students in the room was indeed jarring.There is absolute truth in that some issues simply cannot be fully understood by people without firsthand accounts or experiences, but that should not defer others from being aware of the problems. In fact, without that external awareness, communities seeking change will not achieve change. Dr. Cobb’s forum did not consist of the entire audience listing their previous experiences with race in the black community–obviously this would begin to limit the target audience of the event. However, the forum simply existed as a way for people to listen. Of course, it was fueled by audience questions, but there was only time for about 10-percent of the room to pose any. In other words, most of us simply sat there to listen. It was fascinating, helpful, and enlightening.All causes are driven by people who personally feel the gravity of a specific issue, but they eventually require the support of others if they seek to implement permanent change. It is in no way the role of supporters to hijack, trivialize, marginalize, or generalize the people most affected by a cause (which does unfortunately happen in some cases), but it is rather their job to listen and to keep listening. And that’s exactly what the forum facilitated– an extension of simply listening to broaden the scope of an issue, to those both inside and outside the directly affected communities. Our student body listened to the assembly that morning– at least enough to recognize its esteem of a standing ovation–but that’s not the final step. It is beyond imperative that we keep listening and always seize the opportunities that will keep our ears open, our minds aware, and change brewing.