UCM’s Spotlight hosted the Tunnel of Oppression as a part of Unity Week, Feb. 18 and 19 in the Elliott Student Union.

Unity Week aims to expose students to various cultures and under-represented minorities through speaker events and activities throughout the week.

“To me, Unity Week is an opportunity. It’s a chance for students to experience something outside of their comfort zones and hopefully learn something new,” said Michael Lostritto, graduate student and debriefing facilitator. “And that’s what college is all about.”

The Tunnel exposes students to marginalized groups of people to encourage students to have conversations around topics that otherwise might be considered uncomfortable. Each room in the Tunnel features scenes and images representative of marginalized groups and the challenges they face.

“We have international students talking about times they’ve felt discriminated against because of where they’re coming from or what they look like,” said Haydee Reyes, Office of Student Activities graduate assistant and event organizer. “We have a room about the LGBTQ community, and really, it’s just to open the eyes of people who don’t face those oppressions lingering over their heads and to get them to try and empathize what it is like to be living as part of said community and living their everyday lives with those struggles.”

Danielle Friedmeyer, a sophomore digital media production student, said she hoped attending the Tunnel would be a learning experience.

“I thought it would be interesting to learn about those who face oppression, and how more privileged individuals can take action along with those who are oppressed to help change the world we live in for the better,” Friedmeyer said.

Reyes said she hopes this event is eye-opening for students and that they deepen their understanding and empathy toward their peers.

“I hope they just get to thinking and be empathetic of others around them because, although you might not see an outward form of oppression, you never know what’s going on behind the scenes internally,” Reyes said. “So I hope students are just able to kind of think about what their peers and faculty members and people in the community are going through.”

Friedmeyer said attending the Tunnel enhanced her perspective on the struggles that many other people face.

“The event made me more aware of the people around me and made me realize that judging those around us — in many instances — is a form of oppression even if we don’t realize it because we never know what that individual is facing,” Friedmeyer said.

Lostritto said his job as the debriefing facilitator allowed him to have important conversations with participants.

“It was encouraging. I love hearing about student experiences and seeing the learning processes they go through first-hand,” Lostritto said. “It was also great to see that the program was succeeding at providing a challenging learning experience.”