Oscars Spark Discussions About Race in Houses

Students and tutors in Lowell and Mather gathered to discuss issues of race and diversity in response to controversy surrounding the 88th Academy Awards.

This year’s Oscars awards have garnered controversy in the media for the lack of racial diversity of the nominees selected for many top award categories.

Around 30 people gathered to watch the annual awards ceremony in Lowell’s Junior Common Room Sunday. During commercial breaks, Lowell race relations tutor Shaniece Criss asked the audience about their thoughts on the issues of diversity in the Oscars with the intention of sparking small discussions throughout the night.

Lowell resident Qing Qing Miao ’16 praised the event as an opportunity to talk about the lack of racial diversity in the film industry.

“I think that Hollywood’s internal struggle or attempt to deal with the racism issue is incredibly important,” she said. “One benefit of having it in this setting is that we have a conversation piece that resonates with a lot of different people.”

Lowell race relations tutor Jonathan R. Bruno said he hoped the screening would balance both serious discussion and entertainment.

“Hopefully we’re also reaching some students who just wanted to watch the Oscars and we can suddenly transform this occasion for fun to engage with this thing of pop culture and add in a space to reflect on it from a different angle,” he said.

Bruno emphasized the importance of having events, like the Oscars screening, in the Houses in order to make conversations about race and diversity more accessible to students.

“Having events in the House is different than having them in the classroom,” he said. “Both are really important, of course, but having them in the House again provides an alternative entry point for people in a space where they feel at home.”

Mather House held a similar event showing the movie “Selma” last week with a discussion led by residential tutors and resident dean Luke A. Leafgren. Mather race relations tutor Anthony Jack led a discussion about Hollywood’s “troubling” lack of diversity before the movie screening, according to Leafgren.

Leafgren said he views the event as part of a larger effort to engage students in discussions about race and inclusion in the House.

“Such conversations are incredibly important, but they aren’t always easy, so it takes repeated practice to learn how to listen with curiosity,” he wrote in an email.