天美传媒

A diverse group of 天美传媒 faculty, staff and students gathered in a meeting room in the Social Work Building on July 13, 2016, as part of an ongoing discussion on how issues of racial profiling and gun violence might be addressed by the University and across our country.

The monthly sessions have been called by Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Director of the M.S.W. Program Laura Quiros, Ph.D., and Student Affairs Coordinator Schanica Pickens primarily to address increasing tensions across the nation between police and minority groups.

Topics flowed freely during the open-agenda session, which began with a three-minute silent meditation. Participants discussed the need to create open forums among social workers in Nassau County and the importance of remembering that other people don鈥檛 know your experience, even if they鈥檙e familiar with the issues in the news.

The conversation wasn鈥檛 isolated to the ways stories of excessive force by police impact minority groups. The perceptions of white people were also discussed.

Attendees of color disclosed how they can feel judged by the white majority. Natasha Saini, a first-year M.S.W. student, said she could pinpoint 9/11 and the subsequent backlash against nonwhites as the point at which 鈥渞ace started mattering鈥� to her. 鈥淏efore 9/11, I didn鈥檛 realize I was brown,鈥� she said.

Brian Leander, Ph.D., former assistant director of the and recently named manager of training and development, said he still feels conspicuous as an African American male. The other side of the racial coin was represented by Anthony Zenkus, a School of Social Work adjunct professor, who said, 鈥淲hen I get pulled over [by a police officer], my biggest fear is that I鈥檒l get a ticket, and that鈥檚 not a privilege I realized I had.鈥�

Dr. Leander and Zenkus reflected a general sentiment around the table that efforts at social change need to begin in the shared space, the Adelphi campus. Dr. Leander challenged the others in the room to ask themselves, 鈥淗ave I done everything I can to make this space what I idealize?鈥�

The difficulty in discussing recent racial tensions in America, according to Dr. Quiros, is compounded by the fact that there isn鈥檛 a solitary perspective being considered.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of nuance and complexity in what鈥檚 happened,鈥� she said, 鈥渂ut what isn鈥檛 complex is that people of color in this country have a very different experience.鈥�