Matt Peters
map006@marietta.edu
Students, faculty and local residents gathered on Monday Nov. 21, in Marietta College’s McDonough auditorium, to discuss the issues of racial and religious discrimination. Dean of students, Lisa Philips, moderated a panel of six professionals that included local clergy, law enforcement and public administrators.
“It’s important to note that our goal today is not to solve the problem, because the problem that exists is certainly not a problem that gets solved in a matter of two hours,” Phillips explained.
Panelists addressed concerns voiced by students who have experienced discrimination based on their religious or ethnic identity. Several panelists reflected on their own experiences.
“Sometimes the incidents occur just because of ignorance, not any kind of intent,” said Shoshanna Brooker, who serves as Magistrate for the Washington County common pleas court. “In this community I personally have seen racism both overtly and [inadvertently].”
While Marietta College’s campus is relatively diverse, the city of Marietta’s population is over 96 percent white. The largest minority, African Americans, make up only 1.3 percent of Marietta’s population.
“I understand race to be something that is more biological, but it’s also socially constructed,” explained Reverend Kathryn Hawbaker of the First Unitarian Universalist Church. “Race, like many things, is a social construct that becomes something that we take as a given rather than something that should be fluid.”
Panelists also addressed the fears expressed by Muslim students, following the election of Donald Trump. Since the election many colleges have experienced more protests and violence directed at the Islamic community.
“What I see in our culture is that we’re always connecting with the people that are in our own religious tradition. We have a harder time connecting with people who aren’t like us,” Hawbaker said. “And so, a lot of religion unfortunately instead of bringing us together, is about separating us.”
Many of the panelists stressed the importance of finding a “common ground” when talking about issues of race and religion.
“When we’re trying to mend fences or solve problems, and we think we’re creating inclusion, at the same time we are talking about nothing but differences,” said Marietta College Chief of Police, Jim Weaver. “If we can get to a point where we see people as people – as Americans, as human beings – we could be so much better.”
The panel also included Sgt. Roy Kampmeier of the Marietta Police Department, Felix Burrows, a retired Presbyterian minister, and Lisa Polk, a counselor at Marietta High School.
“If we just see each other as human beings that God made,” Burrows said, “meet on some level where the ninety-nine point nine percent is the same, we can show this to be a wonderful place to live.”
