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Week of #NoMoreSilence events gives students voice

By Emily Williams, Assistant News Editor

Dozens of students marched together from the Armstrong seal to Uptown Park holding white laminated signs with the words, "I am breaking the silence on …" In those blank spaces were written different words and phrases - sexism, racism, slut shaming, micro-aggressions, prejudice based on sexuality.

On Saturday morning, March 5, in the Unity March, an annual event where all students and their organizations are encouraged to march together as an act of support and solidarity. This year's march acted as both the conclusion of Awareness Week hosted by Spectrum, Miami's GLBTQ+ organization, and the kick-off of Diversity Week, presented by the Diversity Affairs Council.

"It was such a wonderful moment of solidarity," said junior Ryan Anderson, a student employee for the Office of Diversity Affairs, of the march. "I felt even closer to the members of the student body who feel they are excluded having that moment where we all came together."

The response to the march, which was attended by both President Hodge and Dean of Students Mike Curme, was very positive overall, Anderson said. However, on their way to Uptown Park, offensive comments were shouted at the people participating in the march from residents in the apartments above the DuBois bookstore.

"The vast majority of us just let it roll," Anderson said. "You're always going to have to deal with people who don't accept you."

The DAC is a student organization tasked with learning more about the complexities of diversity, exposing the student body to new experiences and supporting the efforts of other student groups who promote diversity on campus.

Dalton Ulm, chief of staff for the Diversity Affairs Council, started planning for the week's events in November. Inspired by the #BlackLivesMatter movement, Ulm wanted a theme that both incorporated a hashtag and acted as a call to action.

He and the rest of the DAC chose the theme #NoMoreSilence with a focus on the idea of resilience.

"What resilience meant to us was standing up to what you believe in as a student at this university," said Ulm. "It's about creating a place of solidarity."

Tuesday evening, March 8, at the Oxford Community Arts Center (OCAC), DAC hosted a #NoMoreSilence Poetry Slam. Everyone was invited to participate, and performers could interpret the theme however they chose. Since the event was hosted off campus at the OCAC, the performers were not required to censor their work.

Ulm said he hoped the event and the location would create an environment where performers felt free to express themselves.

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"I thought it would be a great opportunity to voice some of the inequities going on right now and to give people a voice who don't normally have one," Ulm said.

While introducing the night's performers, Ulm and DAC president Magda Orlander expressed their pleasant surprise at the turnout, a crowd of about 50 that had overflowed from the tables in the center of the room to rows of chairs along the walls.

The subjects addressed by the 12 performers ranged anywhere from sexism, racism, GLBTQ+ issues, police brutality and the experiences of Miami's international students to more general themes of justice and self-expression. Every performance was followed by a mixture of snaps and applause with intermittent snaps and verbal affirmations during particularly rousing pieces.

[media-credit name="Photo by Jing Long | Students recite poetry during the Diversity Week #NoMoreSilence Poetry Slam on Tuesday." align="aligncenter" width="900"]USE[/media-credit]

Several of the performers and attendees were members of SPEAK MU, Miami's spoken-word poetry club. Among them was first-year Lauren Racela, whose piece "Cutting Stems" addressed the stigmas surrounding mental illness.

"I think that we had a lot of diversity in the forms that people presented," said Racela. "I think that just proves that spoken word can be anything you want it to be."

A self-described novice when it comes to spoken-word poetry, Racela said she appreciated seeing variety in both the people who performed and the subjects they addressed.

"It's really great to see different kinds of performers and people of all different backgrounds working on their craft," said Racela.

Black Beyond Borders, a group launched in 2015 to help encourage and equip students of color to travel and study abroad, held a panel discussion last night in the Armstrong Student Center Community Lounge where students spoke and answered questions about their own experiences studying abroad. According to Anderson, one of the goals of the events was to help students of color see themselves reflected in the study abroad experience.

The week's events will culminate with the annual Lavatus V. Powell Diversity Awards banquet held today at the Armstrong Pavilion. Every year, students, staff, faculty and student organizations are recognized at the event for the "Outstanding Diversity Award." This year, senior Kyle Denman is one of the nominees for Friday's event.

A resident assistant in Tappan Hall, Denman has been involved in events and efforts focused on diversity through the Office of Residence Life, Associated Student Government, the Interfaith Center and other organizations. This will be Denman's first time attending the banquet.

"I'm not sure what to expect, but I'm very excited about it," Denman said. "Having this banquet every year really showcases how people on our campus are so special, and that people here are making a huge difference in the lives of others."

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