By Janay Davis, ‘16
The Courageous Conversation dialogue was started at Gonzaga this year through the work of Gonzaga Student Body Association (GSBA) Community Events chair, Caleb Dawson, and the Unity Multicultural Education Center (UMEC). As Diversity Chair on GSBA, I had the opportunity of being a part of this program’s development. These monthly meetings started in November after some culturally insensitive costumes were worn for Halloween. Lunchtime in College Hall 101 grew into a safe space for students, faculty and staff to have meaningful dialogue about things such as religion, race, sexual orientation and how media portrays different events.
Students participate in the Hindu Holi celebration of spring by throwing colored powder into the air.
Courageous Conversations was an amazing experience. People from all over campus came to have hard conversations about things that matter on and off campus. One of the things that I loved about courageous conversations was that it allowed people to understand where they had advantage. Recognizing where we are privileged is a part of diversity that is most often skipped. It can be hard to talk about privilege because of shame or blame that comes with acknowledging its unfairness. In Courageous Conversations though, we talked about it in order for people to understand where they have benefits others lack and how these can be used to help those who are not as privileged in the same aspects.
Due to the uniqueness of experience though, privilege is not an absolute thing. We approached privilege in different categories and this allowed a more complex view of their personal identity. The lunch hour was never enough time to fully discuss the complex subject matter in depth, but it was enough to scratch the surface and start the conversation. This event definitely required an open mind, but fostered dialogue that could not be heard anywhere else on campus. This gave me a place to express my anger, love, inspiration and sympathy for different issues that we discussed each week.
Courageous Conversations became an outlet for me and others to express how we really felt about violence on people of varying sexual orientations, races, and religious views. Something beautiful about Gonzaga’s mission statement is that, “The Gonzaga experience fosters a mature commitment to dignity of the human person.” Whether or not we agree with the beliefs of an individual, they deserve respect and dignity because they are human.
This event is a unique experience and has greatly enriched the Gonzaga campus. Due to the support of administrators and their serious commitment to educating the whole student, we are hopeful that Courageous Conversations will continue for many years. GSBA is proud to continue to lead this event and it is my hope that one day this will be a tradition at Gonzaga.