2008 Woodie Awards
Students attend White Privilege Conference
Katie Young
Issue date: 4/30/08 Section: News
From April 2nd to the 4th, a group of UW-L students from Multicultural Student Services, Residence Life, and Student Association travelled to Springfield, Massachusetts to attend the 9th annual White Privilege Conference. While at the conference, students listened to speakers and attended workshops, which raised awareness about white privilege.
According to Diana Vang, a UW-L student who went to the conference with Multicultural Student Services, the purpose of the conference was to raise awareness about the privileges whites have that minority groups do not.
For example, the conference touched on the fact that successful white males are more likely to be honored with their own holiday, while Black History Month is celebrated during February, the shortest month of the year.
"The conference really opened up your mind and made you realize things you didn't know," said Vang.
Besides racism, such topics as homosexuality and gender issues were explored during the conference's many workshops. According to Vang, everybody that attended the conference, which included student groups, faculty members, and adults, watched the keynote speakers together and broke off into smaller groups to attend the various workshops. Vang said everyone attended three hour-and-a-half workshops everyday.
According to Krista Carlson Wolff, a UW-L student who attended the conference for the second time, many of the workshops were interactive.
"They would allow you to say how you were feeling and how you have dealt with different experiences you've had," said Carlson Wolff.
Carlson Wolff points out that students could choose which workshops they attended from a wide variety of topics.
"There was a limitless variety of topics, from homosexuality to racism in movies and hip-hop. We had many options to choose from," she said.
According to Carlson Wolff, who first heard about the White Privilege Conference from an education class, attending the conference for a second year allowed her to take more of an active role.
According to Diana Vang, a UW-L student who went to the conference with Multicultural Student Services, the purpose of the conference was to raise awareness about the privileges whites have that minority groups do not.
For example, the conference touched on the fact that successful white males are more likely to be honored with their own holiday, while Black History Month is celebrated during February, the shortest month of the year.
"The conference really opened up your mind and made you realize things you didn't know," said Vang.
Besides racism, such topics as homosexuality and gender issues were explored during the conference's many workshops. According to Vang, everybody that attended the conference, which included student groups, faculty members, and adults, watched the keynote speakers together and broke off into smaller groups to attend the various workshops. Vang said everyone attended three hour-and-a-half workshops everyday.
According to Krista Carlson Wolff, a UW-L student who attended the conference for the second time, many of the workshops were interactive.
"They would allow you to say how you were feeling and how you have dealt with different experiences you've had," said Carlson Wolff.
Carlson Wolff points out that students could choose which workshops they attended from a wide variety of topics.
"There was a limitless variety of topics, from homosexuality to racism in movies and hip-hop. We had many options to choose from," she said.
According to Carlson Wolff, who first heard about the White Privilege Conference from an education class, attending the conference for a second year allowed her to take more of an active role.
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