This year, 13 students, three faculty/staff and one area community member joined to prepare ourselves to attend the eleventh annual National White Privilege Conference in La Crosse, WI, with over 1700 other attendees. This conference was created to fight against the systems of power and privilege used for the purposes of oppression.

Our team was made up of a variety of people, and it was the first time that many of us had the opportunity to discuss race, racism and social justice with such a diverse group of people. Through the information we learned, we were often left questioning the core value of “Justice” at Gustavus. For instance, did you know that Carl Von Linnaeus not only created taxonomy of plants, he created taxonomy of races? This “scientific data” validated slavery and the inhuman treatment of slaves. Linnaeus, a person our school thought enough of to dedicate an arboretum to, created justification for slavery. Will that give you a different perspective when walking through the arb?

Our team vowed to come back to campus, continue to be supportive of each other as well as work as a catalyst with the campus community for issues of social justice, specifically regarding the privilege of whiteness or more importantly the privilege some people don’t have because they are not white.

Many of us are passionate about issues we have no control over. However, rarely do we look in the mirror with the purpose of improving our own social flaws. The group learned that working on these flaws can enable us to help others understand and grow and make our environment more socially just.

I want to say thank you to the individuals who attended the conference and stood shoulder to shoulder in the effort for social activism in our community.

TEAM WPC ‘11