St. Catharines professors helm panel dealing with on-campus racism
Published January 19, 2023 at 10:08 am
The panel of four Brock University professors and two American professors will all sit down tomorrow (Jan. 20) at a forum with the topic “Addressing Anti-Black Racism on Campuses.”
Being held at Brock’s Pond Inlet from noon to 3 pm, the six scholars will share their experiences of first-hand racism on campus with organizers saying they hope forums such as this will create and facilitate “action-oriented initiatives toward more inclusive, equitable and just intellectual spaces for BIPOC-identifying students, staff and faculty.”
On the Brock side, panelists will be Professor of Information Systems Ateneh Ayanso, Goodman School of Business; Professor Dolana Mogadime, Faculty of Education, Department of Educational Studies; Professor Beatrice Ombuki-Berman, Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Mathematics and Science; and doctoral student Nwakerendu Waboso, Department of Child and Youth Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences.
Also joining the panel from the U.S. are Associate Professor John Singer, Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion and Sport Management, School of Education and Human Development at Texas A&M University; and Associate Professor of Sport Management Kwame Agyemang, Department of Human Sciences at Ohio State University.
Christabel Oghinan (BSc ’22), an alumna with a passion for advocacy and human rights, helped lay the foundation for these events alongside her peers Temi Odunuga (BSc ’22) and Akua Asare (BSc ’21).
The trio approached Deans in the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences a while back during the peak of the pandemic about forums such as this and were excited by the open reception they got when it came to creating events “to garner support for under-represented students.”
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“We were pleased to have created an event where students felt comfortable to open up,” Oghinan says. “It feels like we really activated something that has made us a part of the change process at Brock.”
“I’m looking forward to not only what this accomplished group of international scholars have to say but also the participant feedback,” Oghinan continued.
“It is when talks are unscripted, and students feel safe to speak up about their campus experiences that voices really start to get heard. This is my favourite part, when we lay the groundwork for the after-effects to be put into action.”
Friday’s event is free, but spaces are limited so check HERE to secure a spot.
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