2008 Woodie Awards
Week Of Difference: "Breaking Down Barriers"
This year's Week of Difference teaches us to end prejudice and discrimination.
Brittany Lee
Issue date: 11/19/04 Section: News
This year, Week of Difference sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs took place from November 15 to the 19, with the theme of "Breaking Down Barriers." Each day featured a different event or activity to spread awareness concerning diversity and the need to eliminate hate. Additionally, a Blanket and Toiletry Drive for Ripple Effect, an organization seeking to help the homeless, gave students the entire week to donate items in one of the many boxes dispersed around campus
The week began with speaker Thomas J. Leyden, TJ, who is a former neo-Nazi supremacist activist and recruiter. TJ Leyden once supported and encouraged others to hate non-whites and to call for the death of the Jewish race. He displayed Nazi symbols on his body and tolerated no diversity, but a dramatic change of heart transformed TJ to a strong advocate for embracing all cultures. He visited Rollins this past Monday to encourage others to turn away from hate as he has.
On Tuesday, The Office of Multicultural Affairs teamed up with the organization Voices for Women for Pledge of Honor. Voices for Women was unable to plan events for Sexual Assault Awareness Week due to the hurricanes this year, so some activities for Week of Difference this year give voice to victims of sexual assault and violence. From 12-2 p.m. in the Cornell Campus Center, Voices for Women set up a table at which students interested could take a pledge promising never to perpetuate violence or sexual assault and to advocate for victims of these crimes.
The week continued Wednesday with an open mic at 8 p.m. in Dave's Down Under. All who wished to do so could take the stage and express their interpretations of the theme "Breaking Down Barriers." People were encouraged to share experiences, read poetry, perform dances, or show in any creative fashion their take on this year's theme.
On Thursday, the dramatic play "Extremities" by William Mastrosimone was performed in the Annie Russell Theatre at 8 p.m. The provocative play explores sexual assault and the consequences wrought when one victim takes matters into her own hands. Following the show, at around 10 p.m., Voices for Women led a march through campus, starting at the Annie Russell Lawn, known as Take Back the Night. This ceremony pays tribute to victims of sexual assault. A peaceful candlelight ceremony to commemorate the event took place at the march's completion. Additionally, playing at the Fred Stone Theatre November 18 to the 21 was the play "The Boys Next Door" by Tom Griffin. This production challenges our definition of normal by giving us a glance of the world through the eyes of four mentally challenged men.
During the day on Friday, Arnold Palmer's Hospital for Women and Children, which has a sexual recovery trauma center known as The Healing Tree, partnered with The Clothesline Project to display a clothesline adorned with t-shirts created by the women and children in the center. The display on Mills Lawn visually commemorated the healing processes of these victims of sexual assault.
Week of Difference ended Friday with a ceremony in the Darden Lounge. All throughout the week, a table in the Campus Center from 12-2 p.m. allowed students and faculty to Build the Wall of Stereotypes. Stereotypes people hold or those expressed by others were written on the wall. During the ceremony Friday a discussion was held examining these stereotypes and the ways in which they perpetuate fear and hate amongst ourselves. Then the wall was broken down to powerfully symbolize the need to eliminate stereotypes and prejudice in our lives.
The week began with speaker Thomas J. Leyden, TJ, who is a former neo-Nazi supremacist activist and recruiter. TJ Leyden once supported and encouraged others to hate non-whites and to call for the death of the Jewish race. He displayed Nazi symbols on his body and tolerated no diversity, but a dramatic change of heart transformed TJ to a strong advocate for embracing all cultures. He visited Rollins this past Monday to encourage others to turn away from hate as he has.
On Tuesday, The Office of Multicultural Affairs teamed up with the organization Voices for Women for Pledge of Honor. Voices for Women was unable to plan events for Sexual Assault Awareness Week due to the hurricanes this year, so some activities for Week of Difference this year give voice to victims of sexual assault and violence. From 12-2 p.m. in the Cornell Campus Center, Voices for Women set up a table at which students interested could take a pledge promising never to perpetuate violence or sexual assault and to advocate for victims of these crimes.
The week continued Wednesday with an open mic at 8 p.m. in Dave's Down Under. All who wished to do so could take the stage and express their interpretations of the theme "Breaking Down Barriers." People were encouraged to share experiences, read poetry, perform dances, or show in any creative fashion their take on this year's theme.
On Thursday, the dramatic play "Extremities" by William Mastrosimone was performed in the Annie Russell Theatre at 8 p.m. The provocative play explores sexual assault and the consequences wrought when one victim takes matters into her own hands. Following the show, at around 10 p.m., Voices for Women led a march through campus, starting at the Annie Russell Lawn, known as Take Back the Night. This ceremony pays tribute to victims of sexual assault. A peaceful candlelight ceremony to commemorate the event took place at the march's completion. Additionally, playing at the Fred Stone Theatre November 18 to the 21 was the play "The Boys Next Door" by Tom Griffin. This production challenges our definition of normal by giving us a glance of the world through the eyes of four mentally challenged men.
During the day on Friday, Arnold Palmer's Hospital for Women and Children, which has a sexual recovery trauma center known as The Healing Tree, partnered with The Clothesline Project to display a clothesline adorned with t-shirts created by the women and children in the center. The display on Mills Lawn visually commemorated the healing processes of these victims of sexual assault.
Week of Difference ended Friday with a ceremony in the Darden Lounge. All throughout the week, a table in the Campus Center from 12-2 p.m. allowed students and faculty to Build the Wall of Stereotypes. Stereotypes people hold or those expressed by others were written on the wall. During the ceremony Friday a discussion was held examining these stereotypes and the ways in which they perpetuate fear and hate amongst ourselves. Then the wall was broken down to powerfully symbolize the need to eliminate stereotypes and prejudice in our lives.