Tunnel of Oppression

Tunnel of Oppression

1. 
   The event is organized by the Multicultural Student Services, under the following staff:
   

• 
  Ro Parker: Coordinator of Multicultural Student Services
  

[e-mail], [phone]

• 
  Nurudeen Ibrahim: Director of Tunnel of Oppression
  

[e-mail]

• 
  Mario Venegas: Tunnel Funding Coordinator
  

[e-mail]

• 
  Veronica Martinez: Tunnel Logistics Coordinator
  

[e-mail]

• 
  Justin Baxter: Tunnel Marketing Coordinator
  

[e-mail]

2. 
   The Tunnel of Oppression is a theatrical tour that seeks to raise awareness in participants about issues of oppression of different groups and how these affect the lives of constituents of those groups. Tunnel also seeks to give a voice to voices of the oppressed that tend to be marginalized and silenced in mainstream media. This is performed by means of theatrical acting in which scenes of oppression either real or symbolic take place that sheds light into issues that are silenced in our everyday lives, from the Native American holocaust and the contemporary effects thereof to the treatment of women, and the racism endured by Mexican immigrants and People of Color by extension. This event occurs every November, the first or second weekend of November on BSU campus in the Hatch Ballroom from Friday 10am-8pm until Saturday 10am-5pm.
   

The Tunnel of Oppression is also student led and directed under the facilitation of the staff at Multicultural Student Services. We also receive the support and help from student organizations on this campus that carry out many tasks associated with Tunnel such as acting, guiding, front desk reception, and debriefing. The organizations involved include MEChA, Black Student Alliance, Muslim Student Association, BGLAD (Bisexuals, Gays, Lesbians, and Allies for Diversity), and Chi Sigma Iota (Counseling Honor Society).

3. 
   The Tunnel of Oppression supports the mission and goals of the Cultural and Ethnic Diversity Board in that by raising awareness of issues of diverse groups on ethnic, gender, class, and nationality levels, participants can learn more about these groups and become involved in issues pertaining to such groups. As Tunnel of Oppression, we seek to bring to light issues of diversity that affect not only this campus but also the world at large such as the occupation of Palestine, racial profiling of blacks and Latinos by the police, commodification of women in the media, and repression against non-dominant groups.
   

4. 
   The benefits of having the Tunnel of Oppression is that it seeks to impact students and community members about issues of oppression and marginalization that impact local communities and even those around the world. A short term benefit is an increased understanding of what oppression is for non-dominant groups. Another benefit is a feeling of validation to the experiences of non-dominant groups which in turn increases their self-esteem since most of the experiences of non-dominant groups such as racism, sexism, and homophobia have never been validated by dominant culture. Tunnel has created long term impacts in some participants that have been through it that they have become deeply involved in causes that seek to address oppression, inequity, and oppressive ideologies that function in society.
   

5. 
   The target audience is everyone in the community. This also includes BSU students, community members from the Boise area, and even outreaching to areas in Idaho such as Nampa, Caldwell, and Meridian. Our goal is to reach to as many people as we can get to go through Tunnel.
   

6. 
   Tunnel of Oppression has been happening since 2005 and every year we get a large attendance of participants. Last year’s Tunnel yielded a record of at least 1,200 participants, the highest we obtained since the inception of this event. For this year, we anticipate an attendance of at least 1,000 participants. We are going on a large promotional campaign to advertise Tunnel and since this event has a yearly tradition, we expect former participants to return.
   

7. 
   The event is free to everyone. Below is the budget for costs associated with the event.
   

Promotions
T-Shirts		$1,100.00
Flyers		$300.00
Posters		$400.00
Banner		$600.00
			$2,400.00
Catering for 70
Breakfast		$950.25
Snacks and Water		$371.16
Lunch and BRC		$1,153.74
Dinner		$703.07
Cast Dinner		$200.00
			$3,378.22
Tech/AV
Hatch Electric Equipment (laptops, projectors, etc)		$1,800.00
Hatch Stage Equipment (stanctions, drapery, etc)		$800.00
Registration Equipment (laptops, tables, etc)		$300.00
Debriefing Equipment (tables, chairs)		$10.00
Tech/AV Staff (salary)		$30.00
			$2,940.00
Miscellaneous
Security	$448.00

Grand Total

$9,166.22

8. 
   To carry out this event, we have asked different organizations to help us with the funding for this event. The Martin Luther King Jr Living Legacy Committee has partnered with us in funding and co-sponsoring this event. They have agreed to fund the event in the amount of $2,500. We have applied for funds from the PRIDE Foundation in Boise that does similar work that addresses issues of the LGBTQ community but we have yet to hear from them. In addition, we are in the process of requesting funds from ASBSU, the student government on this campus to help us with the expenses. In short, we have confirmed the MLK Living Legacy Committee and are in the process of procuring funds from PRIDE Foundation and ASBSU.
   

We would like to request funding from the CEDB in the amount of $2,000 to help us substantially cover the costs associated with Tech/AV for Tunnel of Oppression.

9. 
   We have a major promotional campaign taking place for this event. This consists of advertising the Tunnel of Oppression through table tents throughout campus venues where students can see the event that is coming up. We are also advertising through Facebook and Twitter to outreach audiences outside of the BSU campus and Boise area. In addition, we are promoting heavily on this campus through banners that will be displayed in the Info Desk at the Student Union. Finally, we are obtaining T-shirts for Tunnel staff and theater actors, guides, counselors, and volunteers to help advertise our event throughout the places and people we interact. The T-shirts contain the dates of the event for people to take note. I have worn the Tunnel T-shirts on a semi-constant basis, especially when Tunnel is looming closer to advertise to people about the event and the dates.
   

10. 
    The data that we gather for Tunnel is mainly signatures of consent forms from participants. These forms are release waivers stating that it is their responsibility for going through Tunnel of Oppression and that the nature of the content they will bear witness may make them uncomfortable. Should that arise, the form states that debriefing will take place after the Tunnel to help participants cope with what occurred while inside. The signatures are counted to keep track of total attendance for this year’s Tunnel. We keep record of attendance every year of Tunnel participants to show how much of an impact this event has on this campus and to some degree the community at large.