Seeking Shared Experience Over Exclusivity, Diverse Students Gather in Mather JCR To Forge Dialogue

Students of different races, sexualities, and religions gathered last night in the Mather House Junior Common Room to discuss exclusivity at Harvard.

About 25 undergraduates attended “Intersecting Identities: A Town Hall Discussion,” which was the brainchild of Ryan R. Thoreson ’07, co-chair of the Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Transgender, and Supporters Alliance (BGLTSA).

Thoreson said he began planning the event after observing the similarities between different groups on campus that act as umbrellas for other organizations.

“There is a history of racism in the queer community, beyond Harvard, as well as a history of focusing on one identity to the exclusion of communities outside that identity,” Thoreson said. “At Harvard we have mechanisms for solving that problem. After we leave, however, those mechanisms disappear, which is why it is so important to start dialogues now.”

Students debated how to include a wide array of students into various cultural or lifestyle groups without diluting the goal of a shared experience.

“What happens when a person can feel safe in two groups, because of shared common identities within those groups, but you can only achieve that safe space in of those two groups?” Black Students Association (BSA) Vice-President Jennifer N. Wynn ’06 asked. “Is there a way both groups will allow you to marry those two identities without compromising either one?”

Attendees of the meeting also discussed the internal politics of organizations.

“A lot of times involvement is about choice,” Margaret C.D. Barusch ’06 said. “Are you a person who says, ‘I don’t like the politics of this so I will look elsewhere?’ Or are you the kind of person who wants and has the resources to get involved and change the organization?”

Self-segregation of students into single groups—particularly ethnic groups—were also topics at the meeting.

But, toward the end of the discussion, students offered possible ways to reconcile different identities. While many agreed that it was not possible to have a group in which every student felt completely comfortable, it may be possible to form areas of overlap between communities, argued Ana Huang ’08.

The event was sponsored by several groups on campus, including BGLTSA, Hillel, Girlspot, Queer Asian Forum, and ethnic groups affiliated with the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural Relations.