Lunch with the Class

After finishing my Action Plan yesterday I went over it this morning for one last review. As I hit the submit button I felt a sense of relief and pride. The next step is to continue to work my speech to make sure I cover all the needed points to get the message across.

Class started with a game where there were five tables set up around the room. At each table there were a deck of cards, rules, and four chairs (for four players). The goal of the game was to move to table one, every time you win a round you move up a table until you get to table one. The losers or the person with the less “tricks” had to move down a table, the rest stayed where they were. What we didn’t know was that each table had different rules. The second twist was not being able to talk so every time someone moved tables the game that had different rules. 

Throughout the game no one tried to convoy what their rules were. This made it very confusing for some. It also taught us that because some people think they know one way that might not be the only way or be the right way. It will allow me to think more about how I interact with people because everyone has different upbringings and their truths and my truths will be different.

After the game we headed to the Brown Center for Students of Color (BCSC). Being one of the oldest centers they had a very large space making them the biggest. We toured the building which is set up to mimic a house. Mary Grace gave us the grand tour that included years of posters that have been used to promote different events. These were very nice because you can see the diversity with events but the consistence to hold them every year on important dates for all of the individual races. 

Next we got to explore the top floor which held safe spaces. Each safe space was decorated to show case a different culture. Being Latina I found the Latinx to feel very homie and comfortable which felt like I was walking into my grandma’s house.

After the tour we all went into a classroom at the BCSC where Imani would present us with Case Studies. The lesson was about biases in the work place we learned about five:

* Prove It Again: “When women have to work harder to establish competence”

* Maternal Wall: “When women encounter severe bias once they have children”

* Double Bind: “When women must choose between being liked or respected”

* Gender Wars: “When gender bias pits women against women”

* Double Jeopardy: “Gender bias can differ according to the race of the woman”

We then watched different videos of different scenarios where one of the biases above was reenacted. After that we began playing Family Feud. The questions revolved around finding out which of the biases fit different scenarios that Imani read to us. 

Today our lunch and learn was to sit and eat lunch as a class with Mary Grace, Imani and Ashley. This is my favorite lunch and learns because it made me felt like I was a part of a community. We all bonded and had a nice conversation. Then we went out to get Bubble Tea with Ashley before class started. 

When we returned to class we began our practice presentations. The presentations are all coming out so great. My favorite so far was Emerald’s because she decided to step out of the tradition giving a speech and into singing for her presentation. I have been practicing my own and will present in front of the Women and Leadership ladies tomorrow.

We ended our day with taking some pictures with Kendra with our Brown souvenirs.