After returning from the 15th annual White Privilege Conference, Emmanuel Cannady, Notre Dame student and Assistant Director of Outreach Services of the Gender Relations Center on campus, had this to say about his experience and that of the other Notre Dame students who attended the conference:

“From March 26-29, 2014, a seven-person Notre Dame delegation experienced the White Privilege Conference -15 (WPC-15) in Madison, WI.  It was a challenging and emotionally-draining experience for everyone; however, the conference allowed us all to investigate the breadth of our humanity.  As was written in the syllabus for the preparatory class titled Introduction to the Intersections of Privilege, “The goal for each participant is personal transformation: to leave the class and conference more aware of injustices and be better equipped with tools to disrupt personal, institutional and worldwide systems of oppression.”

In Blessed Basil Moreau’s charism for Holy Cross education, he calls the art of education “helping young people to completeness.”  As we strive to live by and uphold this at Notre Dame, you will see in excerpts of the students’ journals how their experiences at the White Privilege Conference have helped them toward completeness—through personal transformation, intellectual stimulation, professional networking and commitment to Notre Dame Community improvement.”

To read more about the conference and Emmanuel’s experience, check out this WPC-15 Journal Summary. And make sure to sign up for next year’s conference!