2008 Woodie Awards
'Real' event shows oppression, injustice
Kristina McCollor
Issue date: 4/23/07 Section: News
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The "Real" Real World consisted of eight rooms that had pictures, posters and videos full of information on various forms of oppression and problems in the world today, including, genocide, homophobia, sexual abuse, eating disorders, sexual assault and racism. The tunnel led attendees from theme to theme.
It showed a lot and was full of information, fourth-year student Michelle Schuft said.
"People really need to start taking this stuff seriously," she said.
The Holocaust and genocide were two topics that shocked people the most, third-year student Muktar Udan said.
The tunnel started out with facts and comic strips about the war in Iraq and President Bush, leading into the Holocaust.
Hanging from the ceiling were pictures of starved and tortured children and adults, the concentration camps people were put in and prisoners of war. Posters supporting Hitler conquering the Jewish people covered the floor and walls.
"The video from the Holocaust and the oppression was really shocking. I haven't seen things like that before," Udan said.
From that room, the tunnel went through the 9/11 attack and the separation of church from state.
Into the next room came homophobia and gender roles. "Remembering our Dead" was on a wall full of people murdered because they were transgender or were targets of violence because of their sexual orientation.
That led viewers into the room of genocide. This room had many pictures of starving children and people brutally murdered.
"It was crazy to see that things like that really go on in the world," second-year student Josh Moeschl said.
Schuft said she saw more information than was expected on different forms of genocide and was shocked by some of the pictures.
In the seventh room, a clothes- line full of shirts and dresses appeared with stories, quotes, poems and emotions written on them about sexual assult and sexual and physical abuse from partners and parents.
Along the walls were pictures of women with eating disorders and facts about anorexia nervosa and bulimia.
"One thing I learned was if Barbie was a real woman, she would be 7 feet tall and walk on all fours. Yet, children idolize her," Schuft said.
"Today's society sees people with an eating disorder as someone just looking for attention, but it is really a disorder and a problem that people have," Moeschl said. "Especially as college students, we need to identify it and understand when people do have an eating disorder that they need help, not just attention."
The last room had posters and a tape playing racial slurs. There was information about the oppression of American Indians and African Americans.
"There's a lot of stuff that I have learned being a sociology major, but seeing it all in one room was kind of a lot to take in," third-year student Cally Voegele said.
This event was sponsored by OUTLOUD!, GLBT Alliance, the Women's Center, Campus Advocates Against Sexual Assault, Multicultural Student Services, Social Responsibility Graduate Program SOC 111 and 366 (Elizabeth Scheel-Keita).