As students entered the Deconstruction Zone, they found strikingly offensive words against women, Jewish, African-Americans, Mexicans, Chinese, Muslims and homosexuals written in chalk along the walls. The Deconstruction Zone, part of Hate Crime Awareness Week, attempted to bring recognition to racially, religiously and inappropriately offensive words.
"I felt a sense of guilt and shame because you are surrounded by a bunch of horrible words in a room," freshman Carolina Wright said. "When you see the words on the wall, you feel guilty because you contribute to it. I brought friends to see it today to create awareness."
Residence Life, Hillel, University Ministry and the Office of Student Diversity organized the Deconstruction Zone. Volunteers and participants included BCC (Black Cultural Center), HSA (Hindu Student Alliance), MSA (Muslim Student Alliance), SASA (South Asia Student Alliance) and various other volunteers. The immersion museum ran from Tuesday, April 17 until Thursday, April 19 in the Granada Center.
"It is very moving to see all the images, especially the written messages on the wall, with all the racist slurs," freshman Shivali Raav said. "People do say these things of hate and they do hurt."
Upon entering the Deconstruction Zone, a bright light leads visitors into a black room with bleak images of Nazi symbols and pictures of the Holocaust. On one side of the wall, photos of Prussian Blue, a musical group comprised of two twin sisters who sing songs about white pride, are posted.
The next room visitors see is about commercial sex in India, especially in the red-light district where poor people face discrimination because of the caste system and often enter into human trafficking.
Afterward guests enter a room where Hindu students are holding a peaceful prayer service when suddenly two masked gunmen run in and kill them.
In the next room, a female Muslim student speaks about what it is like to go to school and wear the hijab (women's head covering) as a personal choice. She explains what it means to her and the impact it has on her relationships with others, especially those who are ignorant of Islam.
A timeline of hate crimes lines a wall, including the famous story of Matthew Shepherd, a college student murdered in 1998 because he was gay.
The next rooms evaluate how African Americans face discrimination and the history of racism. At one point, visitors enter a dark room and listen to a recording of a slave who is caught reading by her master as her master yells and beats her for what she has done. Suddenly a curtain is drawn and an actor portraying a slave is pretending to be hung for her "crime." In the next room, an employer sifts through applications, searching for an employee who is not black, regardless of their qualifications, by looking at where they are from in Chicago and what their names are. "That name sounds so ghetto!" the actress says. The last room was an African-American soldier entering the military, but then facing segregation because the soldier is unable to enter a restaurant because of the color of her skin.
After visitors enter the Deconstruction Zone, Loyola faculty and staff lead a discussion about reactions to the Deconstruction Zone and solutions to end discrimination.
"Behind the hatred there is fear," Elizabeth Lozano, Ph.D. said.
Another part of Hate Crime Awareness Week included the Day of Silence Speak Out and the Wall of Hate, which was covered with deragotory words.
"At the Speak Out we heard stories of people who had been victimized," Locke-Thompson said. "It does not matter whether you are gay or straight. It was very intense and so emotional."
Post-baccalauerate student Dustin Johnson was the first speaker at Loyola's Speak Out, which ended the Day of Silence against hate crimes.
"A lot of people were uncomfortable speaking in such an open area," Johnson said. "The nice thing was for us, as an intimate social group, to share with each other."
Hate Crime Awareness week will continue through this Friday, April 27. On Thursday from 1-5 p.m. a Pride Fair will be on Halas Field.
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