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My Experience at the Real Talk About Race Panel

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Seton Hall chapter.

I was eager to attend this event, to discuss the truth about racial problems on our campus. Before this event, it was not prevalent to me, based on personal experiences, the degree of severity to which racial injustice occurred at Seton Hall. The conversation was eye opening and I truly believe I have a changed outlook on how to discuss racial matters in terms of political correctness.

Overall, the message I took from the open forum was how racism is most of the time not a purposeful quality one inhabits. Everyone is ignorant to some degree regarding how they should address other races, and cultures. The conclusion as to how to make efforts to solve the racial dichotomy not only on campus but also throughout America today is that you must have that uncomfortable conversation with someone. That conversation that forces people to be vulnerable. Allow people who have more knowledge about how to handle racial, political correctness to address your ignorance so you can work to better your judgment.

A common question asked was, why don’t we talk about race in more of our classes and have these growth conversations? The answer was that as a school they must create a safe place for students. Something to note was that almost everyone who spoke at the forum was not white. This is because there is a common uncomfortable feeling white people get when talking about race, because they do not want to offend anyone. They do not want to show their ignorance, and it’s not their fault. You do not want people to judge you or think you are racist, because you really think you are not. After this discussion, I concluded that most is racism is simply ignorance.

Hi! My name is Kiah Conway and I'm a double major in Journalism and Creative Writing here at Seton Hall. I am one of the Campus Correspondents for Her Campus, as well as a Chapter Advisor for some HC Chapters. If it wasn't already obvious, I am really passionate about writing. I'm also a serious Netflix addict and book lover. In between binge watching Marvel movies and doing homework, I spend my time hardcore Pinteresting and writing short stories.