Unintentional racism at WCU

“You are all odd!”  This was a central part of the message Dr. John Habel imparted unto students at the Unintentional Racism seminar Monday afternoon in the UC Multipurpose room.

The seminar, one of many events being hosted by WCU’s intercultural affairs office, lasted nearly two hours and was an interactive discussion on several aspects of the types of prejudices people hold without realizing it.

Some of the interactions included discussing a classic Dave Chappelle skit, rating the same students behavior based solely on the name they were given and the race attached to it and discussing the differences in the results based simply on race.

“..I wish more people had come, it would be a good way for them to see the things we do everyday that are racist that we don’t realize,” said Reginald Williams, a junior at WCU studying Psychology

Dr. Habel has been teaching at Western for more than 20 years, has taught a variation of the Unintentional Racism seminar for many years during the International Festival.  For a full list of diversity week events, click here.