Spring Break
Campus conversation combats hurtful slurs
Students and faculty gathered last night to discuss diversity
Kyle Roerink
Issue date: 2/19/09 Section: News
The title of last night's Campus Conversation was "A black, a Jew and an Arab walk into a bar ... then what happens?" But the students and faculty who participated were not there to joke.
The open-discussion forum focused on how to teach the local, national and global community to come together as one race by advising students to courageously and appropriately teach people how to remove the veil of ignorance.
"We need to discuss the impact and the hurt that (slurs) cause to others when these terms are used, when these jokes are told and when these beliefs continue to be perpetuated," said Tim Moore, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. "(The slurs) add to the differences between us as opposed to those things that can help bring us all together as part of the human family."
People who believe in using derogatory slurs and jokes did not attend the program, said Jennifer Chestnut, executive director of Hillel at Kent State. She asked the group if it had a collective responsibility to broaden the horizons of ignorant people who use means of antipathy to feel better about themselves.
"When someone makes a comment ... do you have a shorthand thing you say to people?" Chestnut asked. "Whether it's a classmate, friend or professor, what is our response, and if we each had a response prepared, would it be easier because you know what to say?"
Handling offensive situations requires a special formula, said Julio Pino, associate professor of history. He said resolving a problem dealing with hate-filled language depends on negotiating space - who you're talking to, who you're with and how to defend yourself.
Pino gave an example of when a young woman, standing alongside her mother, made a hurtful comment toward him about his ethnicity.
"If I would have responded the way I wanted to respond - with great anger - I would have offended her mother. I wasn't about to do that," Pino said. "So instead, I swallowed it, and to this day, I am sorry I swallowed it.
"I am not saying I should have gotten angry - that would have been the wrong response - I could have asked her why she would say something like that because she is not just insulting me, she is insulting my whole ethnic group. I wish I would have engaged her in conversation."
Moore said the best way to evoke humanity from people who make malicious comments is to pull them aside and say "that hurt." It may take courage, he said, but it is the only way for them to learn from their mistakes. If a person doesn't say anything, he said, people will continue to do what they are doing.
"I believe a lot of problems come from parents," said Coleman Lynn, junior sports management major and member of Phi Beta Sigma. "What (parents) believe in is what kids believe in."
He said even if he were to tell someone their comments "hurt," approaching them would not make a difference because people always return to their cultural morals and background.
In response to Lynn's comment, Moore affirmed there is always a chance that confronting a person in attempt to make him or her more well-rounded could be an unforgettable experience on behalf of both parties.
"Students are very good examples of this," Moore said. "The parents taught them certain things, but when they went to (Kent State) and they saw different types of people being friends and doing things they thought could never be done, they grow.
"If you make a mark with the child ... the parent may still do it, but the child may grow in their ways and they may think back and say, 'I got checked on what I was doing.'"
Contact minority affairs reporter Kyle Roerink at kroerink@kent.edu.
The open-discussion forum focused on how to teach the local, national and global community to come together as one race by advising students to courageously and appropriately teach people how to remove the veil of ignorance.
"We need to discuss the impact and the hurt that (slurs) cause to others when these terms are used, when these jokes are told and when these beliefs continue to be perpetuated," said Tim Moore, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. "(The slurs) add to the differences between us as opposed to those things that can help bring us all together as part of the human family."
People who believe in using derogatory slurs and jokes did not attend the program, said Jennifer Chestnut, executive director of Hillel at Kent State. She asked the group if it had a collective responsibility to broaden the horizons of ignorant people who use means of antipathy to feel better about themselves.
"When someone makes a comment ... do you have a shorthand thing you say to people?" Chestnut asked. "Whether it's a classmate, friend or professor, what is our response, and if we each had a response prepared, would it be easier because you know what to say?"
Handling offensive situations requires a special formula, said Julio Pino, associate professor of history. He said resolving a problem dealing with hate-filled language depends on negotiating space - who you're talking to, who you're with and how to defend yourself.
Pino gave an example of when a young woman, standing alongside her mother, made a hurtful comment toward him about his ethnicity.
"If I would have responded the way I wanted to respond - with great anger - I would have offended her mother. I wasn't about to do that," Pino said. "So instead, I swallowed it, and to this day, I am sorry I swallowed it.
"I am not saying I should have gotten angry - that would have been the wrong response - I could have asked her why she would say something like that because she is not just insulting me, she is insulting my whole ethnic group. I wish I would have engaged her in conversation."
Moore said the best way to evoke humanity from people who make malicious comments is to pull them aside and say "that hurt." It may take courage, he said, but it is the only way for them to learn from their mistakes. If a person doesn't say anything, he said, people will continue to do what they are doing.
"I believe a lot of problems come from parents," said Coleman Lynn, junior sports management major and member of Phi Beta Sigma. "What (parents) believe in is what kids believe in."
He said even if he were to tell someone their comments "hurt," approaching them would not make a difference because people always return to their cultural morals and background.
In response to Lynn's comment, Moore affirmed there is always a chance that confronting a person in attempt to make him or her more well-rounded could be an unforgettable experience on behalf of both parties.
"Students are very good examples of this," Moore said. "The parents taught them certain things, but when they went to (Kent State) and they saw different types of people being friends and doing things they thought could never be done, they grow.
"If you make a mark with the child ... the parent may still do it, but the child may grow in their ways and they may think back and say, 'I got checked on what I was doing.'"
Contact minority affairs reporter Kyle Roerink at kroerink@kent.edu.
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 34
the real pino
posted 5/07/09 @ 10:51 PM EST
pino is a terrorist lover who ksu must can !!!
a student
posted 5/08/09 @ 11:31 PM EST
no the first comment is actually right. go on the internet and look up prof pino and you will see he is a piece of shit. I am disgusted that part of my tuition money pays his damn salary. (Continued…)
Mary Jo
posted 5/09/09 @ 9:17 AM EST
Dr. Pino loves the Taliban, Al Qaeda and Hamas. In this article, he is portrayed as a sensitive Arab who holds no hatred toward others. What a crock a shit!
This article is a perfect example of horseshit "make it up as you go" journalism! Give me a break. (Continued…)
Brian Fellows
posted 5/09/09 @ 11:52 AM EST
Pinto loves the Taliban like fat kids love cake. I wish the F.B.I would take this guy into custody already.
Robin Anderson
posted 5/10/09 @ 10:56 PM EST
So...the mere FUCKING annonymous mention of 'doc pinto' is enough to mis-direct the emphasis of this article article to a 'personality-hate-fest'?
You folk truly are 'young-skulls-full-of-mush', eh?
Um. (Continued…)
Dee
posted 5/11/09 @ 11:00 PM EST
Dr. Pino is such an immediate discredit to anything he's associated with that I'm starting to wonder if he isn't a plant.
the real pino
posted 5/19/09 @ 10:44 PM EST
pino has ripped you poor students off. never give ksu a contribution dollar ever. that will fix those commie muslim loving administrators. pino is a terrorist. (Continued…)
Robin Anderson
posted 5/20/09 @ 11:17 PM EST
Aw...what are you folk so afraid of? The distorted ideas of one man? Bring em on! Even Washington and his ilk were, at one time, considered traitors, eh? Don't try to lock em up in a dark room. (Continued…)
Robin Anderson
posted 7/24/09 @ 8:47 AM EST
Well, my annonymous li'l 'Draken', is it? Aren't you just the ignorant li'l twit, besides being so conveniently annonymous, eh? Dam...where's a history major when you need one?
It took how many ammendments to our Constitution before both blacks and women were granted the "unalienable rights" of the white boyz??? Um. (Continued…)
A Worker
posted 7/28/09 @ 8:38 AM EST
If you have evidence of someone committing a crime, you have an obligation to report it. If you don't have evidence, no crime has been committed, and you yourself might be committing a criminal act (slander, libel, etc. (Continued…)
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