In 'Tunnel of Oppression,' raising awareness through immersion

From behind an enlarged screen shot of the video that shows Eric Garner's death stretches a rope, up from the easel to the ceiling. Coming back down, it ends in a noose.

On the noose is a tag with Garner's last words: "I can't breathe."

This display occupies just one corner of a room in the basement of Rutgers-Camden's campus center, but it's one that immediately draws students as they enter. To its right is a photo showing two white officers choking a black man decades ago.

On the far right is a close-up of a black man hanging from a noose. Behind all is a Confederate flag.

"We wanted to illustrate how far we have come and how far we have not come, and we wanted to show that because it is so critically important that history does not repeat itself, and right now it really seems like, in a lot of ways, it is," said Debbie Scheibler, the Rutgers-Camden assistant director for housing and resident life, who organized the three-day project to raise awareness of social justice issues.

The project, called "Tunnel of Oppression," is adapted from a template used at schools nationwide. It concludes Thursday night. Every half-hour, groups are led through a series of rooms, where student actors perform scenes about oppression, including situations involving race, gender, sexuality, and disability.

The project "isn't meant to discourage students, but it's meant to show them you can make a difference," Scheibler said. "Stand up, now's the time, because it maybe isn't happening as much as possible."

In the first room, two students talk about an African American studies course at a party while a female student is physically forced into another room in what is understood to be an act of sexual assault. In another room, LGBTQ students talk about coming-out experiences.

Other rooms focus on body image, dating violence, and depression and suicide.

As they move, visitors are surrounded by sheets covered in racial slurs, sexist insults, and demeaning and hateful phrases.

And on the ground along the way, huddled in blankets and holding signs, are students portraying homeless people, drawing attention to veteran and youth homelessness and student food insecurity.

From start to finish, Tunnel of Oppression assaults the senses and sensibilities of participants.

"It gives voice to those who are oppressed, people that don't feel like they can speak up about these issues because they don't have anyone to talk to," said Bianca Patel, 18, a freshman biology major from Clifton, N.J., who went on a walk-through Tuesday.

"This probably shows people who have been through similar things that they are not alone, and we recognize what is happening in the world," she said.

Most of the issues are explored through skits, but the one featuring Garner, whose death in 2014 on Staten Island, N.Y., while repeating "I can't breathe" ignited protests, is a museum-like display juxtaposing past and present. One corner links black slaves picking cotton to migrant Hispanic workers collecting fruit and vegetables.

The famous photo of Tommie Smith and John Carlos raising their fists while on the podium at the 1968 Summer Olympics sits on the same easel as a photo of Beyoncé doing the same at the Super Bowl this month.

One motivation for the historical comparisons is Rutgers University's current celebration of its 250th anniversary, Scheibler said.

The City of Camden plays a role, too.

"We've shown how Camden has grown, and part of that is, look how great Camden used to be. And now let's look at how it's all boarded up and dilapidated," she said, standing before a series of photos on the wall. "And so, again, look at our own host city that has fallen into disrepair."

The Tunnel of Oppression project is in its fourth year at Rutgers-Camden. Alexis Wilson, 22, a senior psychology student from Washington, joined in because of personal interest in conversations surrounding race, gender, sexuality, and feminism.

"Now, four years later, it's become significantly more important to me, as has activism and social justice," Wilson said. "Activism has become something that's very, very important in my life."

Of about 90 students coming through each night, Scheibler and Wilson said, maybe some wouldn't have otherwise thought about some of these issues.

"That is a process, and that's the whole point of Tunnel, is getting to have that conversation . . . to plant that seed, to have it in your mind," Wilson said. "Obviously, not everybody's going to get something out of it, but if you can get even a fraction of the smallest percentage, that's what we're aiming for."

On Tuesday, two students of Indian descent pointed at different signs on the wall as they whispered to each other about white privilege and racism. Both have heard different types of racially charged language, they said.

" 'You're really pretty for an Indian girl' . . . really strikes me the wrong way," said Archi Shah, 19, a freshman biology major from Clifton.

Both came to the Tunnel of Oppression with an awareness of social justice issues, they said, but wanted to learn more: "Any way to educate myself and learn more is always a great opportunity," Shah said.

She said the last skit, in which a student composes a suicide note, particularly resonated.

"A lot of people gloss over the fact that sometimes, people can be depressed but still do well in school, and still try, and still hang out with friends, and still maintain a facade of just being happy, and I guess 'normal,' but still have that feeling inside," she said.

The Tunnel of Oppression "is an immersive - visual, auditory - immersive experience that is meant to challenge, that is meant to push boundaries, that is meant to get you to think and to feel," Scheibler said, "and hopefully empower you to be part of the solution and to help repair the hurt in it."

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