LETTER: ‘Blind Side’ speaker not so interesting
To the editor:
Foremost, I would like to bring attention to a speaker who was brought to our campus; Collins Tuohy, who talked about her family’s story in the movie “The Blind Side.” There was an article in The Statesman about her “inspiring” message and the impact she brought to students. Truthfully though, there was little thought-provoking content being revealed behind the walls of her privileged household. Michael Oher was her only gateway to the audience.
My question is, how was this inspiring to students? The take-away message was to value people around us, when in fact her own value was surly elevated by the means of my own student fees. How was this approved of, and who approved such a mediocre speaker to be publicized widely across campus? If we are an institution that fosters growth and original ideas, in what ways did she represent this or resonate this?
A student’s comment and observation was that “color does not matter.” The perspective she gave on race is infuriating. There are differences between people and building a tolerance for these is important. However, her speech alluded to color being associated with value in a way that could be damaging to the work of other programs promoting difference in perspectives of race and gender. Is the school promoting diversification on our perspectives placed on people? If so, there are far more inspiring and qualified individuals to bring.
– Rebeca Muniz