The forum on race, women, and mental health exposed real problems at CMU

You might have been annoyed by the crowd of students and faculty by the Fence, on Friday blocking the sidewalk on your normal route to class.

CMU President Subra Suresh, along with other faculty and administration, organized an event to discuss issues present in both the world and CMU.

At noon he addressed the crowd, saying, “We have a special responsibility to push for solutions to problems [of race, xenophobia, mental health, etc]. We are here to talk to others about what is on our mind and in our hearts…I am very proud to be part of a community of people who care deeply about many issues.”

After he finished speaking, everyone broke into small groups to discuss whatever issues they felt were worth talking about on campus. Here’s what some of your fellow classmates have to say about these topics:

There seems to be a lack of racial diversity on campus

“It really irks me sometimes that we rarely see black people on campus, and when we do, they’re the people who are working for us. They’re the janitors, the people who are serving me, cleaning up for me, and it bothers me.” – Kanisha

“It’s hard to study when people who look like you are dying.” – Wole

The problem extends to women too

“There’s a lack of women in faculty positions, and as a woman ECE major in a male-dominated field, it can be hard to always be taught by men.” – Kat

People often found there was a taboo about mental health

“It’s hard for me to approach professors and say, ‘Hey, I’m dealing with this mental illness.’ There’s not that connection with professors.” – anonymous

The event itself seemed like it was really needed

“This is like an occupy movement, we’re literally in the way of people and forcing them to stop and say, ‘Woah, there are issues here and we need to fix them.'” – Jorge

“This is a good step, but everyone who’s here participating already knows and cares about these issues. I feel like we’re preaching to the choir.” – James

This event was a great way to open up discussion, and I’m excited to hear about other events we may have in the future. But while it was great to see so many members of the CMU staff and administration there (they were about half of the crowd), there really weren’t a lot of students.

Some people walked by and just didn’t give a damn. We need to change that. We’ve got a community within CMU, but CMU as a whole doesn’t feel like one yet.