A wall of hate will be erected on the STEPS front lawn March 28, and students will be given markers and encouraged to write or draw artistic representations of instances in which they have felt victimized by the words or actions of others on campus.
The wall is part of Without Walls: Enriching Differences at Lehigh, a Global Citizenship capstone project aiming to foster productive conversations among Lehigh students about of diversity and inclusion over a five-day period. Sydney Bagley, ’16, Brishty Khossein, ’16, Amie Diamond, ’16, and Sasha Popova, ’16, seek to highlight the impact that words and actions have on Lehigh’s campus climate.
The wall of hate will remain standing through March 30, when students will be invited to participate in its destruction. It will then be replaced with a wall of healing. A facilitated discussion in which students are encouraged to reflect on the emotions triggered by the wall of hate triggered will follow. On April 1, a closing ceremony will be held and the wall of healing will be removed. Another facilitated discussion will follow for individuals to reflect on how the Lehigh community can continue to foster an inclusive campus environment.
The four students running the event hope this will serve as a way for students to begin having difficult conversations about sensitive topics.
The group points to some racially charged and culturally insensitive incidents that have occurred on campus throughout their time at Lehigh, including inappropriate party themes and the infamous vandalism of the Umoja house, as reason for the project. The group is hoping their project will shine light on taboo topics many students feel uncomfortable discussing.
It is their belief that being able to confront such uncomfortable topics head-on is the first step toward tough topics that affect the Lehigh community. The group feels that although the administration has put forth a commitment to recognize and embrace differences in the Lehigh community, true change must stem from a grassroots effort.
“A substantial percentage of our campus remains passive when it comes to addressing concerns of diversity and inclusion,” Diamond said. “To facilitate change on campus, we need active participation from all members of the community. Marginalization and prejudices are not limited to students of color but are also relevant to individuals of different religious, ethnic, social and financial standing.
“As a Global Citizenship Capstone group, we would like to support this need for change by creating an outlet for students to vocalize their concerns about the campus climate. We believe that open dialogue and facilitated conversation about controversial topics will be an effective method of addressing and reflecting on community concerns.”
Although inspired by events that have occurred during their time at Lehigh, the group does not feel the issues they are addressing only deal with the Lehigh community.
“We have seen similar projects conducted at other schools, which have yielded positive results,” Khossein said. “In bringing the Walls of Hate and Healing to Lehigh, we wanted to showcase that Lehigh is as passionate about building an equitable community as other institutions that have faced similar struggles.”
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