Tunnel of Oppression

It has been my belief that us Otterbein students lead exemplary, oppression-free lives in comparison to the destitute places of the world. That view has somewhat changed since visiting the Tunnel of Oppression. While it is true that we have many first-world luxuries available to us that we, in many cases, take for granted, it is also true that those material and socioeconomic privileges do not make us a society free of oppression. These rooms were filled with degrading words, images, and statistics; each one screaming- begging to be heard, begging to be seen, begging for us to leave our ignorance of oppression at the door.

The moment we begin to face the issues of poverty, the need for gender-neutral bathrooms, the reality of the glass ceiling, and the harmful power of words themselves, we can begin to make positive changes for the better. The Tunnel of Oppression was about bringing these concerns to light and making each of us individually evaluate how we are either ignoring, or perhaps worsening them for ourselves or others. While it is true that many countries have significantly more life-threatening burdens to face, it is important to understand the cultural deficiencies of our nation as well. Only through heighten awareness can these factors hope to be overcome.

I found the Tunnel of Oppression to be an eyeopening experience. Going through with a group and having time for reflection at the end made it all the more impacting.