Stefanie Watson

Racial reconciliation.

With the establishment of the John Perkins Institute and SPU’s involvement with the National Christian Student Leadership Conference (NCMSLC), this term saturated SPU last quarter.

Although the hype from these events has long passed, one group of students is determined to not let the issue fade away, and a new buzzword will soon rise in replacement: "Gather."

Formerly called the NCMSLC Book Club, "Gather" is a new discussion group that meets biweekly on Thursdays at 7 p.m. in the SUB, aiming to further define and act on issues of racial reconciliation.

Lynn Van Antwerp, SPU's Intercultural Project Coordinator and group's advisor, chose the name with a few other students by throwing out buzzwords and looking them up in a thesaurus.

"We wanted to gather together under the theme and explore," she said. Van Antwerp said the group's purpose is to "intentionally come together to discuss racial reconciliation and what it means on campus."

She described NCMSLC as "this intense weekend to talk and think ... but then you go back to school," and "there's so much else in your life, vying for attention; it's easy to dismiss it."

"After the NCMSLC conference, naturally, I had a lot of questions," said junior Nathan Vorwerk, one of the group's leaders. The post-NCMSLC debriefing periods allowed for the consideration of numerous important questions, such as "What was your experience?" and "What did you learn?" But he saw the need for something to further engage the SPU community.

Van Antwerp and senior Brian Halcomb also wanted to do something more, so they joined forces with Vorwerk and sent out an e-mail to other conference participants about their idea for a discussion group.

"Gather" asks attendees to read book selections ahead of time for discussion, which are sent out by email the week before. Students currently involved are also reading books on their own from the NCMSLC book list.

Van Antwerp realized that it's challenging for students to take on one more reading assignment and time commitment.

Vorwerk admitted, "It's work. It's not an easy subject. It's not an easy issue."

But, they describe meetings as being "very informal, not rigid at all," with "not too strong of an agenda," and an "environment of learning," where people don't feel threatened. These are all elements that Vorwerk attributes to NCMSLC's success, as well.

Halcomb complained that too many students on campus insist that, "I already feel like I'm reconciled. I'm fine with this." Yet, these are also the kids who can count their friends of different races on one hand, he said.

"A lot of students on campus didn't see the big picture," Vorwerk agreed. He describes himself as a "white kid from a gated community," and admitted that he was also among the many who didn't know what "racial reconciliation" really meant.

When the term was introduced last fall, Vorwerk said that he had always "equated the reconciliation theme with economic issues." In an effort to learn more, he decided to serve on the NCMSLC staff.

On the last night of the conference, it was hearing Dr. John Lee, the banquet's vivacious speaker, that made him realize how much work he had to do to truly learn about reconciliation.

Since then, Vorwerk claimed "my mindset's changed." No longer does he see racial reconciliation as just a buzzword, but "a recognition for an individual's being -- an individual's value as God's creation."

The first meeting, just four people showed up, including what Vorwerk calls the group's "Dream Team" of Van Antwerp, Halcomb and himself. Currently they're reading and discussing "Being White: Finding Our Place in a Multiethnic World" by Paula Harris and Doug Schaupp.

The second meeting saw the addition of freshman Marissa Perez, who is reading "Check All That Apply: Finding Wholeness as a Multiracial Person" by Sundee Tucker Frazer.

The meeting's plan was to discuss last Thursday's forum, "Science as an Obstacle to Racial Reconciliation: The Case of Social Darwinism," given by Dr. John West, chair for the department of political science and geography.

Vorwerk started things off by sharing the notes he had taken from that morning's forum with the others. However, as the three sat in a booth in the SUB, conversation moved towards comparing and contrasting what Vorwerk, Halcomb and Perez were reading, and how they viewed reconciliation from their different ethnicities.

For example, Halcomb and Vorwerk confessed that "being in the majority culture ... it's easy for us to go through life without ever having to worry about these issues." They stressed the need for being intentional about seeking out people who are different. Sitting down to lunch with a racially-diverse group and talking about deep issues isn't a common occurrence in everyday life, Vorwerk said.

But for Perez, being part white, part Mexican part and Native American said that race is a constant issue in her mind. "I feel like I stick out wherever I go," she said.

Am I going to be more Mexican with this group? Am I going to be more Indian with this group? Or more white? Such are questions that she deals with in any social situation.

"You feel like you're betraying a part of you when asked to choose one group or check one box," Perez said.

She recalled attending NCMSLC and being encouraged by meeting other multiracial students. "I sat in a room of 50 people who were going through the same thing." Instead of having to choose her cultural identity, "I could be all three, and it would be OK."

Halcomb leaned forward in earnest interest, while Vorwerk leaned back in the booth to contemplate what Perez had shared.

"Can I relate to that at all?" Vorwerk pondered aloud. "Can I try to put myself in her shoes? No, not really. But it's interesting."

Seattle Pacific's campaign for racial reconciliation was also a popular topic of discussion.

"Smaller things are where attitudes are gonna change," Perez said near the end of the discussion. "I've had a couple attitudes tweaked a bit in the last hour."

"I feel like this is more valuable than any posters you put up or grand talks where you go listen ..." She suggested that reconciliation could also be sought by getting more cadres going or branching out Mosaic.

Vorwerk closed the discussion by reading a section from his well-worn paperback about the Parable of the Good Samaritan, found in Luke 10:25-37: "Love your neighbor as yourself ... And who is my neighbor?"

All SPU students and faculty are encouraged to attend this open forum, whether they've attended NCMSLC, read the material and want to talk or just wish to listen.

"I would like to see a diverse groups," Vorwerk said. He envisions "a group that's very open to each other, willing to see a change of lifestyle" and encourages people to "come with all your ignorances, problems and questions and not feel awkward."

"Everyone's had a different experience of race in their lives," Perez said at the meeting.

"The topic of racial reconciliation is very complex, and everybody has a story," said Van Antwerp, and she sees Gather "as a place where people can share their stories and hear others."

It's more than just reading books, attending seminars and hosting activities, according to Van Antwerp. "Racial reconciliation happens with all of that," she said. "But coupled with relationships."