Scholars share experience attending ‘eye-opening’ Colors of KU retreat
By Aseret Bertram Grant, journalism junior and business minor
Every year KU invites students to its university-wide social justice retreat, Colors of KU. Hosted by the Office of Multicultural Affairs, this experience is an opportunity for students to step away from campus for a weekend and fully participate in the deep discussion and self-reflection surrounding social justice with their peers. The retreat takes place in Linwood, Kansas, at the Tall Oaks Conference Center, where nearly 40 students and staff partake in a combination of both indoor and outdoor activities that help bring the topics of intersecting identities, race, systematic oppression, and many more to life for each participant.
This year, MBSP scholars Jasmine Moore and Cydney Adger attended the 21st annual Colors of KU Retreat.
Below, scholar Jasmine Moore shares about her experience:
“Colors of KU is definitely an eye-opening and highly engaging experience. Each day I learned something new that motivated me even more to continue in the leadership roles that I currently hold on campus.
“Upon arriving to the retreat, we were broken up into ‘family’ groups — small groups of about 5–6 students led by 1–2 faculty or student facilitators. These were the groups that we spent the remainder of the retreat with and would reflect and debrief with following each large group activity.
“The large group activities were probably what resonated with me most throughout the retreat. The first was an activity surrounding identities and the idea of intersectionality amongst these identities called the Classroom Resume. The second was the Race Caucus, which included small group discussions surrounding our different racial experiences here on KU’s campus. The third and fourth activities, titled the The Drawbridge and The District, were interactive simulations demonstrating systematic oppression. Each of these activities challenged me in a way that I haven’t been in previous settings and also opened my eyes to the different experiences that my peers endure in this campus and throughout society as well.”
While reflecting on her experience Jasmine also mentioned the strong connections and new friendships built during the retreat:
“I think that as you’re going through each of these activities and sharing some aspects of your personal experience, you start to realize that there are more people like you on the campus than it may seem — and that’s really encouraging because, especially as a minority, it’s so easy to feel like you’re the only one. I feel that we all bonded on this feeling of unity and having people around you that at least somewhat understand your struggle.
“There was a group one night that stayed up just talking, laughing and bonding literally all night. Some didn’t even go to bed because they were having that much fun, which was honestly beautiful to see. Even now after the retreat is over, we’re still all keeping in contact and planning to do more stuff together on campus. There’s a large GroupMe with a lot of us in it where we share songs with each other and have already been making plans to meet up again, just to hang out and keep that bond that was started at Colors.
“Overall, I would say that Colors is a unique experience that honestly every student on KU’s campus could benefit from. There’s something for everyone in this setting and I am confident in saying that regardless of who walks in that space, everyone will walk out having learned something new about themselves and the people around them. And it’s this simple willingness to learn that I think will lead to more lasting change overall.”
