James Madison University - Index

James Madison University - Madison Magazine - Summer 2009 - Index

[Experiential Education]
Keeping up with
the Joneses
Exhibit exposes students to
various levels of privilege
By Sarah Mead (’09)
@
Even in times of economic instability,
do you ever consider
how fortunate you really are?
Students were asked to consider
their “level of privilege” through
an interactive exhibit on campus this
spring. The residence life staff sponsored
House of Privilege, an experiential
museum in Chandler Hall.
During a 45-minute
“tour” of the House of
Privilege, students walked
through multiple rooms and
witnessed scenes of different
types of socioeconomic privilege
in the United States.
Paul Krikau, an area director
in JMU’s Office of Residence
Life, chaired the House
of Privilege event committee.
“The student affairs division
gave us a grant to sponsor the museum
exhibit,” he says. “The museum provided
interactive opportunities to experience
various levels of privilege that occur outside
of our own personal bubbles.”
The exhibit included scenes from
three houses of different cultural and
economic backgrounds. The first
depicted an underprivileged home in a
dangerous neighborhood. The second
showed a middle- to upper-middle-class
home, where the Jones family decorated
their Christmas tree. The couple invited
Greg Myer and another JMU staffer
participate in the House of Privilege
and share in a typical meal to better
understand economic opportunities.
spectators to join in caroling and trimming
the tree. The third house showed a
Hindu family partaking in a sand project
and singing prayers.
Each home included a “window of
opportunity,” which provided information
on resources available in the Shenandoah
Valley for the underprivileged such as how
to gain help for paying energy bills.
Other rooms in the museum depicted
dining-room tables with note cards
explaining a typical family dinner. The
first room’s table was the floor, and it
had four McDonald’s bags. Note cards
described a single mother, who had to
work two jobs to support her family. Her
children would eat later, before she left for
her evening job. The unhealthy nutrition
facts of the family’s typical “dinner” were
listed as well. Another room showed a fully
set dinner table, and note cards explained
that the parents of the family hired a cook
to make healthful meals nightly.
Students were asked to consider their
personal “level of privilege” in the
experiential education exhibit, “House
of Privilege.” Participants viewed interactive
scenes from three houses of
different economic and cultural backgrounds
and then discussed the opportunities
and challenges.
‘The museum provided interactive opportunities
to experience various levels of privilege that
occur outside of our own personal bubbles.’
— Paul Krikau, area director in JMU’s Office of Residence Life
Throughout the tour, a guide asked
students if they could “see themselves”
in any of the families depicted. Students
were given assessment surveys and participated
in discussions led by Nate Sharer,
a counselor in the JMU Counseling and
Student Development Center. “The
museum made students more aware of the
levels of privilege in America,” he says.
The exhibit also included areas where
homeless men and women camped out
in temporary resting spots. Pieces of cardboard
included notes explaining the situations
of several homeless people including
a veteran. The “window of opportunity”
presented information on local community
resource centers like Mercy House.
“Many times we experience high privilege
and don’t even realize it until we are
exposed to the other side,” said one student.
“The first house in the bad neighborhood
struck me, because I don’t often think
about the safety in my neighborhood.” M
12 MADISON MAGAZINE
PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALEX MACDONALD (’08)