Diversity: Overcoming Stereotypes Exhibit in Surdam

by Seraphina Mallon-Breiman

This past Friday night, three GMC students students Luz Guel, Martha Howe, and Rosemary Connelli worked together to put on one of the most beautifully powerful art shows I have seen as of yet in my college career here. Their artist statement was:

Diversity: Overcoming Stereotypes

The purpose of this exhibit is to talk about how different racial, gender, religious, and body type stereotypes affect people personally here in Green Mountain College. These words, phrases, or stereotypes were written on their hands or body to symbolize the labels people place on them. Its critical, especially with so much racial turmoil in the United States, to document the stories of marginalized individuals.

All three of these students had/have faced stereotypes being placed on them, either due to their race or gender or behavior, and all three of these students are acknoweledging how harmful said stereotypes can be. 

Within the GMC community, we have the opportunity to live amidst so many different kinds of people on campus ranging from people all over the US to a large marjority of international students. If we, as Green Mountain College, a tiny bubble within Vermont, cannot begin addressing certain harmful stereotypes we face as world citizens then that is a problem. I’m so proud of these ladies for beginning this project.

I highly encourage everyone to check out this exhibit while it is still in GMC’s Surdam Art Gallery, as well as join one of the artists Luz Guel and myself in the Moses 1st lounge this Wednesday night at 7pm for an Activism Club presentation on Mexican immigrants, border patrol, and what is going on just a few states away from us.