The Student Union held an event yesterday titled “Analyzing Allyship—A Discussion on Black and Asian Relations at Brandeis and In the World.” The discussion focused on how those minority groups can “discover areas of mutuality and allyship,” according to the Facebook page for the event.

About 60 students sat at round tables in the International Lounge and spoke to each other, guided by discussion questions passed out to each table by the event organizers.

One of the questions asked about what it means to be Black or Asian in America and on campus, and students shared some of their experiences on and off campus. Because the organizers requested that students’ words not be used outside of the room, individual students are not quoted here. More broadly, students spoke about diversity at Brandeis and the tendency for people to gather in cliques and spaces with people who are similar to them in some way. Participants at the event also talked about how some groups of people on campus feel more comfortable in some spaces on campus than in others and how they feel the administration falsely believes that simply having students of different races attending school together creates diversity. Several people spoke about the importance of breaking down “silos,” or isolated groups of students, and working together on activism, sharing resources and ideas.

Student Union President Sneha Walia ’15, Student Union Chief of Staff Flora Wang ’15 and Senior Representative to the Board of Trustees Mohamed Sidique ’15 facilitated the discussions and led the event. Other Student Union members, including Undergraduate Representative to the Board of Trustees Grady Ward ’16 and incoming Student Union President Nyah Macklin ’16, were in attendance as well.

The event was funded by the Student Union’s Community Enhancement and Emergency Fund.