On Sept. 26, 2017, in the Student Union, Campus Climate continued their teach-in series by hosting an event called The Rise of Hate: White Supremacy in the States. This event covered “the history, the meaning, and the impact of white supremacy” (uwlax.edu) and engaged with the audience to determine how white supremacy surfaces today.

The event was hosted by a group of three speakers including Dr. Suthakaran Veerasamy, Director of Equity and Affirmative Action Nizam Arain, and Hall Director Jacque Lee. Each took a portion of time during the event to speak about different aspects of white supremacy.

Lee was the first to speak and covered the history of white supremacy in the states. Lee discussed the Civil Rights Movement in the United States and connected that to the form white supremacy takes in society today.

After Lee, Arain spoke about another key term called “The American Dream” and how the idea behind that term plays a role in white supremacy.  Arain spoke at length about how “The American Dream” has false pretenses as it is a dream that is not able to reach everyone and how that looks today.

Following Arain was Veerasamy and he continued the conversation by discussing the impact that white supremacy has in the United States as well as on the UWL campus. Veerasamy connected with the audience by using analogies that tie into white supremacy to help viewers understand what that impact looks like.

The overall message of this event was to bring awareness of the issue of white supremacy to students as well as making them aware of the resources that are available to them. “I think it is important for students to have access to the knowledge and expertise of our faculty and staff,” Arain comments, “regarding current events and issues that arise here on our campus, or in our region, nation and the world.”

“I think the overall purpose of teach-ins is to provide another opportunity to educate the campus community on a variety of important topics,” Lee states.

This is by no means the last teach-in to occur this year. They are hosted frequently and span across a variety of subjects. If you missed out on this one, there are more teach-ins to come.

“The topic may or may not be one that you are already interested in, but either way, it’s an opportunity,” Arain says, “to hear from faculty, staff, and fellow students in a unique context where people from a variety of backgrounds are shedding light on important issues.”

Teach-ins are a space for members of the community to come together and share their stories and experiences where audience members can walk away with a new/or different perspective about the topic. This teach-in expressed that as Lee comments, “All of the panelists today addressed White Supremacy from different angles and I really appreciated hearing all of the different perspectives.”

If you haven’t been to a teach-in before, consider doing so the next time one rolls around. They are a great opportunity to learn and expand your perspective on multiple topics.