D3: “If These Halls Could Talk”: Film Preview and Diversity Dialogue

If our halls could talk, what would they say about the alarming rates of students of color leaving our colleges? What would they say are some of the causes for their departures? What would our students say it is like to be a minority student at a predominantly white campus? Are faculties and staff prepared for this influx of students from different backgrounds? When conflicts arise around diversity issues on the campuses and in the classroom, are administrators and teachers prepared to handle them? What are some of the solutions needed to confront these problems? These and many other issues are discussed in this dynamic new film. In the summer of 2010, the director gathered eleven college students from around the country to answer some of these questions. In the process of sharing their stories and different life experiences with each other, they discover and expose the complexity and anguish that accompany them, while trying to be understood and validated in a predominantly white environment. This film reveals the truths underlying the festering silence on all of our campuses and provides the means in the follow-up dialogue to talk about our differences in an honest, receptive, and, eventually, transformative environment.