WEDNESDAY
DAILY EGYPTIAN FEBRUARY 27, 2013
DAILYEGYPTIAN.COM
SINCE 1916
VOLUME 98, ISSUE 103
Underground event promotes social justice ELIZABETH ZINCHUK Daily Egyptian This week, students and staff can venture into the darkness to bring oppression to light. The seventh-annual Tunnel of Oppression features a walk-through event designed to show students different perspectives of race, gender, body image and homophobia. Thirteen Registered Student Organizations, including the Black Togetherness Organization and Speaking and Teaching, have come together to host the 30-minute tour. Marvin Dixon, a junior from Rockford studying speech communication and Africana studies, said he started volunteering in the tunnel his freshmen year. He also said it is an excellent learning experience. Dixon said the tunnel realistically portrays everyday struggles to which many people turn a blind eye. “It shows you the different experiences that different people have to go through,” he said. “Most of us have privileges that we aren’t aware of.” Dixon highlighted different privileged cultures, such as males and whites, and said many people are not aware certain oppressions still happen today. “Some people, I don’t want to say they’re ignorant to the fact that these types of oppressions happen, but I know a lot of people don’t know,” he said. “They need to become aware of the things that truly go on in their peers’ lives.” Dixon said the university has many marginalized cultures, and anyone can find the tunnel relatable. “In order to make our campus truly diverse and truly inclusive, we need to understand the drawbacks that we have,” he said. Aaron Adams, a senior from Chicago studying advertising and sociology, said he took an active role in the tunnel, and his demonstration room portrayed both a slave and dating auction. The slave auction shows a type of dehumanization, but then draws correlations to dating auctions, which he said has an undertone of selling women. “You are selling yourself as someone’s property for a
NICOLE HESTER | DAILY EGYPTIAN
Students walk through the seventh- annual Tunnel of Oppression on Monday at Grinnell Hall. Shionda Carlisle, an undecided freshman from Belleville and actor in the Tunnel of Oppression, described the event as moving. “I really think it’s important to go,” Carlisle said. “There is something that will inspire you and make you want to stand up and make a difference in the world.” night or however (long) it’s for,” he said. Adams said Greek students, a group he said is typically not considered oppressed, spoke about fraternities and sorority stereotypes in one room. Different students can provide perspectives that tunnel visitors would never have considered, he said. “You come with an open mind to learn about somebody else’s oppression so that you
can have a different view and possibly live your life differently,” Adams said. Raven Gougis, a freshman from Chicago studying biological sciences, said she saw the tunnel Monday. “I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into,” she said. Gougis said the human trafficking and public versus private school classrooms
particularly affected her. “I kind of experienced that I went to a Chicago public school, and I could kind of see some of the similarities with the skit,” she said. Gougis said she enjoyed the tunnel enough that she brought her friends back. Please see JUSTICE | 3
Rape prevention tips push sensibility boundaries MATT DARAY Daily Egyptian A rape-prevention tip list has sparked controversy because of several suggestions readers found offensive. The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs posted 10 “last-resort” tips to prevent a sexual assault, which included vomiting or urinating on rapists. While the list was removed Feb. 19 and replaced with an apology, it left an impact about sexual assault safety on other campuses, including SIU.
Tom Hutton, a UCCS spokesman, told KRDO news officials the list was taken out of context, and it was meant as supplemental information for women who completed a selfdefense class. Hutton said the list was created in 2006 but could have resurfaced because campus rape is a reoccurring issue. While UCCS retracted their suggestions, SIU faculty and public safety officials gave their own rape prevention suggestions and highlighted university services. Megan Jones-Williams, the Women’s Center’s rape crisis services program
coordinator, said the center and university work with multiple groups and prevention programs including the Progressive Masculinities Mentors, a group that promotes equal gender rights and prevention education from pre-school to college-level students. “We focus our energy and our outreach on trying to educate people to not assault or rape other people,” she said. “We always want to put the focus on the perpetrators themselves as the ones responsible, not hold victims responsible for what they did or didn’t do in that situation.”
Williams said the Woman’s Center would not recommend anything like the University of Colorado’s list because it focuses more on prevention education. “We would never encourage or say that someone can prevent being assaulted by doing a certain action, but that’s not to say that we don’t encourage people to be safe,” she said. “If a woman wants to take a certain precaution for themself, then we would certainly encourage that.” Please see PREVENTION | 3
The Illinois College Press Association Conference was held Friday - Saturday, and the DAILY EGYPTIAN came away with 17 awards
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Tara Kulash and Sarah Schneider, news story Pat Sutphin, general news photo Isaac Smith, feature photo Lynnette Oostmeyer, sports photo Staff, advertising campaign AnnMarie Nichols, classified section Lauren Leone, editorial Lynnette Oostmeyer, spot news photo
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Sarah Gardner, sports photo DeMario Phipps-Smith, headline writing Jessica Tezak, general news photo Leah Stover, column
01"#/&'()*+ Staff, news website Tara Kulash, feature story Willie Porter, full page ad
Steve Matzker, spot news
Brendan Smith, editorial SABRINA IMUNDO | DAILY EGYPTIAN