Anticipation for the final event

We are now one week away from our culminating event and I am excited and anxious to see who attends and participates. Our class has been working hard to prepare for the event and has been generating buzz around campus through the library bridge events and social media. I am amazed to see that our weekly Facebook reach is over 2,000 each week. Through this process of planning the event and finally having a better understanding about the different identity issues and stereotypes in Clemson, I have gained a better understanding of my own identity. I have mentioned my anxiety over creating a profound and interesting “I am _____, but also _____” statement, but now I am starting to feel anxious about the culminating dialogue event. I want participants to feel the same relief and understanding I feel about my identity after the dialogue sessions. I hope that we are able to positively impact the attendants and offer an outlet for a safe and constructive discussion about difficult topics at Clemson.

During our mock dialogue session with Dr. Kendall’s class a few weeks ago, I found it difficult to get the students to participate in a meaningful way; however, toward the end of the session they began to open up a little more and move past obvious perceptions of identity. I think they also found it difficult to bring up topics that are not always talked about openly and in a nonjudgmental environment at Clemson such as race, sexual orientation, religion, etc. I’m hoping that the participants at the dialogue event will feel more inclined to open up and speak honestly and freely about their own identities and the identities of others at Clemson.

To prepare for this and ensure this success, we need to make sure the event environment is comfortable, open and inviting so the participants feel safe being honest and disclosing personal information. From this event I hope to learn more about dialogue and how and why people disclose certain information. I hope that by hearing individuals’ experiences and stories, we will have a better understanding about human communication and interaction. I also hope that the participants will find comfort or relief or a sense of belonging through relating to and sharing with others. This week before the event the public relations group and event/t-shirt group has a lot of work to do to ensure this will happen. I am excited to be a part of this human adventure symposium and look forward to see how it expands and improves over the next three years to make Clemson a leader in identity among universities and other communities.

After class tomorrow I hope to have a better idea of what to expect at the event next Wednesday. We have sent out invitations and publicized it on Facebook and Twitter. Hopefully we have reached out to enough students and community members who need an opportunity to voice their opinions, concerns, feelings and beliefs about identity and stereotypes in the Clemson community. I’m excited to see what’s to come next!