by Jacquelyn Griffin
News Reporter
Members of the University of Houston religious community came together last week in the A.D. Bruce Religion Center to examine racism from a spiritual perspective.
In Wednesday's meeting of "Racism: A Disease of the Human Spirit," a three-day program sponsored by the Campus Ministries Association, film clips illustrating the consequences of racism were a starting point for a panel discussion by four UH students and for wider discussion by an audience of more than 50.
The program, part of this year's Religious Awareness Week, focused on racism because the campus community has suffered recently from racial tensions, highlighted by a series of letters to the Department of History from graduate student Fabian Vaksman, said Catholic campus minister Pam Krinock.
Vaksman linked African-American studies to animal research in a series of letters and memos to the history department.
"The Vaksman controversy has made students reflect and tell (campus ministers) that (racism) is an important issue to deal with," Krinock said.
Vaksman's actions would not be the focus of the Religion Center program, Krinock said, but rather a starting point for a broader discussion.
Wednesday's film-clip presentation featured scenes from Schindler's List, Driving Miss Daisy and Stand and Deliver, all illustrating the effects of racist politics on Jews, blacks and Hispanics.
"How often in our own campus life do we see people treated as not being 'a person in the strictest sense of the word?'" Krinock asked, borrowing a quote from Schindler's List.
Panelist Amy Polley, political science major, said, "We don't go beyond stereotypes, beyond the things we want to see."
But taking a person to task directly over a racist remark is not always effective in combating discrimination, especially when it comes to family members who are set in their ways, said Diana Perry-Wiggen, a junior education major.
"The only way for (tolerance) to mean anything is for them to see you live your life in a certain way, although sometimes you have to confront them (over racist attitudes)," she said.
People usually do not identify with discrimination until they experience it personally, said Jeff Cummings, a senior kinesiology major.
"Until you get a group coming together to vote on something, everyone's out for themselves," Cummings said. "My attitude is, if you care, vote to get a law passed and try to be respectful of others' feelings."
Krinock said this year's Religious Awareness Week program may help people tackle discrimination in ways that secular approaches normally ignore.
"The faith perspective asks, 'What are we called to do by our god? What is our highest ideal?'" she said. "It goes beyond humanistic terms. The reason we need to treat each other well is not because a person is good, but because God is good and he created us. Our human dignity is God-given and therefore cannot be ignored."
Even in religious circles, people must deal with discrimination, said panelist Rachel Ann Gomez, a senior accounting major. Gomez's own views on discrimination based on race, gender or sexual orientation sometimes conflict with her Catholic teaching, she said.
"Right now, I'm trying to incorporate my faith and my personal views. The program's religious perspective makes people more accepting, more willing to listen."
Krinock said, "The goal is to try to create a forum where questions can be asked and people struggling with apparent contradictions can grow to a more mature faith.
"We encourage the idea that being part of an organized religion doesn't mean you have to check your intellect in at the door."