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Tim Wise speaks about race and gender issues

March 20, 2013
	<p>Author Tim Wise gives his speech titled &#8220;What do white guys know about race and gender?&#8221; on Wednesday, March 20, 2013, at Kellogg Center&#8217;s auditorium.  Justin Wan/The State News</p>

Author Tim Wise gives his speech titled “What do white guys know about race and gender?” on Wednesday, March 20, 2013, at Kellogg Center’s auditorium. Justin Wan/The State News

Photo by Justin Wan | The State News

Editor’s note: This is part of a report on Women’s History Month at MSU. Click here to read about women who have made an impact at the university and the history of women’s rights on campus. Also read about students and experts weighing in on issues of gender diversity in the field of natural resources.

An eager crowd awaited Tim Wise as he walked to the stage in the Kellogg Center Auditorium Wednesday evening. Students, faculty and alumni packed together in the small auditorium as he spoke on issues of race and gender in society.

“I think we need to have a conversation … A conversation about how women are treated, how women are viewed,” said alumna Kalleigh Landstra, who spoke about increasing relevance of the topic in light of two Steubenville, Ohio high school football players who were found guilty of rape Sunday. “That needs to come from the students and from the administration.”

The title of Wise’s lecture, “What do white guys know about race and gender?” was meant to inspire the audience to think about issues of race and gender.

Wise used some of his personal experiences as examples of this gap. These experiences and his use of humor kept the audience engaged, and many members of the audience even yelled out in agreement with the things Wise said.

He stressed the importance of understanding that “white privilege” does not always mean just an economic or material advantage, but rather that whites do not have to worry as much about proving their worth in society as minorities.

“When you’re part of the dominant group, you don’t have to demonstrate that you belong there. It’s same thing that women have experienced in certain math and science classes,” Wise said. “Studies have shown a direct relationship in how many women are in the class and how many of those women participate.”

Many of the other issues Wise discussed also related to the challenges some students on college campuses experience today.

“I think that there are challenges I face as a black woman,” said doctoral student Tuesda Roberts at the event.

“There always (is) a chance while at a predominately white institution … When I choose to and I need to speak up in regards to issues of racism and sexism and the intersections of those two, then I do face the possibility of being dismissed of having a particular agenda or being biased.”

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