Ellen Hicks

Dr. Finney

MCOM 202

17 January 2018

Tunnel of Oppression Kicks Off E&H’s MLK Day Celebration

Emory & Henry College kicked off the Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations with an

interactive lyceum called the Tunnel of Oppression. Combining interactive stories, chilling

reenactments and more, this lyceum successfully captured students’ attention by presenting

information in a new way.

 The Tunnel of Oppression was a uniquely organized event consisting of five rooms made

of tarp walls. Each room focused on a specific form of oppression including police brutality,

privileged vs. non-privileged groups during natural disasters, and immigration. Small groups of

students were led through the Tunnel by a guide, stopping at each room to learn about the

specific issue in a variety of ways, each requiring the audience to participate. This engaging style

is different compared to many of the college’s lyceums. At the moment, the Emory & Henry

College Lyceum Calendar advertises mostly lecture-based programs.

Students were constantly involved in each room’s production, making their attention

essential. Junior, Katherine Meyers said, “It was different than any lyceum I’ve ever been a part

of, but I think that because of the nature of the topics that were discussed it was important that

this be an interactive style program.”

This event tackled deep rooted issues happening in the United States today, some of

which Emory & Henry students may not know much about. Being a small and rural institution,

nationwide issues of oppression are less obvious on campus because E&H’s demographic is not

visually diverse. Brave students volunteered to speak out about their personal experiences with

the deportation of family members, offensive slurs associated with members of the LGBTQIA

community, and perform a reenactment of police brutality. Meyers said “it was really powerful to

actually hear students’ stories who go here [because] you realize these are actual people that are

being affected by this and it just makes it a whole lot more powerful.” The Tunnel of Oppression

brought nationwide issues to the campus in a way that a lecture or statistic may not.

Students found the engaged and interactive style of the lyceum enjoyable and helpful.

Sophomore, Caroline Mosteller said, “I struggle to sit through lectures… so for these to be so

interactive… they forced you to pay attention and learn so I think that was a really cool part of
this style of lyceum.” The Tunnel of Oppression kept audience members involved throughout,

leaving them with lasting reactions to important national issues that encourage the college’s

students to make a difference in our campus.