Grappling with baggage and privilege at the Diversity Research Forum

This was the first year I’ve participated in the Provost’s Diversity Research Forum. The theme this year, “Privilege & Prejudice: Assumptions in Learning” meant little to me before attending this event. I’m privileged in my life. I can attend class without fear of judgement based on my skin colour or sexuality. I attended the event in the hope of writing something meaningful about the discussion but thinking little about my experience with privilege and prejudice. I left the forum with a new attitude towards assumptions and prejudice in the classroom.

The opening reception on Jan. 29 began with a prayer from members of UVic’s Elders’ Voices in First Peoples House. The room echoed with the sound of the prayer, which lulled the crowd into a warm sense of welcoming.

Right afterwards, performers from the Faculty of Fine Arts acted out an emotional piece called “Baggage Claim,” with each of the performers describing their personal motivation behind the piece after the presentation. One student explained, “judgement is baggage, you have to accept your baggage, you don’t choose what you get.”

Topics for discussion the following day included “Hot Buttons in the Classroom: Limits, Learning and Living Together” and “What Should be Shared and How? Ownership, Authority and Authorship in Collaborative Research.”

I decided on “Navigating Gender and Sexual Diversity in the Learning Environment.” What I experienced was a moving and personal presentation by a group of distinguished members of the UVic community. The panel discussed their experiences with prejudice, in the role of a teacher as well as student. Panellist Kimi Dominic, a PhD candidate in Interdisciplinary Studies, discussed collaboration in the classroom, stating, “Students and staff should be continually invested in an open dialogue, not just on the first day of class.”

Writing professor and filmmaker Maureen Bradley discussed power relationships between queer professors and students. An audience member asked the panellists about teachers revealing gender identity to their students. Bradley replied, “gender identity is always there, your work relationship and creative relationship are intertwined. When students are writing, they’re creating identities. I always ask my students, ‘Who is in your movie? Who isn’t there?’”

Another discussion, “No More Stolen Indigenous Sisters: A Renewal of Hope” explored diversity beyond the classroom. “It is still not safe to be an indigenous woman,” asserted Robina Thomas, of the School of Social Work. “The past, present and future are connected to everything we do.”

The forum ended late Friday afternoon. Every event I attended was moving and personal, and each panellist was brave in his or her goal to remove prejudice and privilege, not just from the classroom but also from our community and beyond.

I no longer believe privilege and prejudice don’t matter because I think I’m “privileged.” We all suffer judgment because of our gender, race and sexuality. We don’t get to pick our baggage. Learning can only occur if we all leave our baggage and judgement at the door.