The director of the school of theatre was toooo geeked to tell me they just hired new acting faculty and he’s black and Leslie god bless her who is i think the only black theatre faculty rn was like squealing to herself and apparently he’s just the greatest person soooo

And they’re planning 6 Theatre and Race symposiums for the upcoming year and the director was talmbout telling faculty to put it in their syllabi and make it required and the faculty are still doing their diversity retreat next semester to learn about privilege and they’re all getting a copy of this book about microaggressions and she was saying everyone on campus knows about the issues in the department so now they need to step up ans be a good example and they were saying they might look into bringing this guy who specializes in boal and theatre of the oppressed and we might host the YWCA racial summit in the center for the performing arts

Like

Y’all.

I did this. With y’all’s help and support lil ol me actually had an impact

Don’t listen to people trying to shut you down or saying that talking on the Internet doesn’t accomplish shit because they are dead motherfucking wrong and you can tell them that straight from me.

Next stop… autism ~awareness~ month… I’m comin for y’all.

The director of the theatre department read a whole book on microaggressions and were probably using the rest of the leftover crossroads committee money to buy copies for all the faculty as she is onna set up a day for poc in the department to just come talk to her about microaggressions in class and te apl and she’s gonna order pizza and I’m so proud of the world righ now I feel like I did a good deed y’all like real shit is happening

:’)

it looks like if you google rob hornbostel google suggests “rober hornbostel isu” and “robert hornbostel racist” 

and the change.org petition is the top result for both rob/robert

that + the fact that the theatre department finally woke up and is working on fixing a bunch of things

they’ve brought in outside people to help facilitate a teaching/learning community based on bell hooks’ books on pedagogy

they’re forging connections with Mixed Blood Theatre and the St Louis Black Repertory

they’re pushing to have the Crossroads production every year again

they’re creating structural changes that will diversify the season to not be 9/10 white men

things actually happened thanks to the internet

jsyk :)

director of the school of theatre just emailed me that she and the associate dean of the college of fine arts “would like to chat with you to see how you are doing and to hear your thoughts about the Restorative Justice sessions. We would like to understand what you would like to see in moving the SOTD forward.”

 screech

guess that concrete action plan thing better get goin

the school is saying that there’s nothing they can do about rob but

the people involved with KCACTF know

and are trying to figure out what to do and how to respond

also supposedly the faculty are going to have to do cultural sensitivity training

people continue to hound me to take the petition down because when you google his name it’s what comes up in the results

sometimes your public actions have repercussions

sorry

my entire life from like age 11 onwards is on google you kinda just have to deal with that

also can i just say (this is from the department’s website)

• We provide professional training in a liberal arts setting.
• Our highly qualified faculty members maintain active involvement in the professional world.
• We provide a supportive environment that encourages exploration and growth.
• Our extensive production program enhances the classroom learning experience.
• We are committed to individualized instruction.

yeah… no.

clearly that “liberal arts setting” hasn’t done much for a large majority of this department

and supportive environment that encourages growth? HA.

rob hornbostel held a racist MLK day party for theatre students for 4 years in a row

and then people jumped to his defense

somehow i think there was some misplaced education there

school of theatre of course continues to try to find bandaid solutions and to do damage control

i’m trying to come up with concrete ideas still so i know which directions to push

a couple of things i want

• bring back the Black Actor’s Guild (and i spoke on the phone with one of the alum who originally founded it)
• change the name of Theatre History in the catalog to something like Western Theatre History

obviously i want world theatre history added to the curriculum, more diverse/risky play selection and a deeper commitment to really understanding productions

but clearly theoreticals are going to be lost on people drowning in their own privilege

so i have to figure out what else concrete can be done.

other theatre folk: halp?

“Tomorrow night’s session is not to serve as an open Town Hall, but to be a facilitated Restorative Justice Dialogue. Typically, with a Restorative Justice Dialogue, we would open the discussion with some agreed upon guidelines; and, then hear from the most directly involved parties. Then, we would work in the round to discuss the “harm” that people experienced, while steering the conversation to identifying the harms (making a list of those) and then shifting the conversation to focus on how to repair the harm. Suzette Walden (Coordinator of Community Rights & Responsibilities) will be the main facilitator of the RJ. Angela Davenport and I will assist her. Suzette will begin with an opening statement, welcoming all in attendance. She will also discuss some basic ground rules (speaking in turn, speaking for oneself, etc.). She will make the point that this session is intended for the School of Theatre and Dance. Conflict of this nature involve various layers of impact. The most directly impacted were the two of you, which is why the opportunity was originally extended to you both to participate in mediation. The next larger circle, according to conversations with you both, would be the School of Theatre and Dance. This is the community we hope to help heal tomorrow. There may be larger/difference communities who were more peripherally affected, but we start with the most directly impacted and work outward to start the healing process by identifying ways to repair the harm. Suzette will communicate that the RJ session will remain focused on this effort and maintain a conducive tone.

Once Suzette has completed her introduction, she will ask Rob to begin. Rob, at this point you will share information about the event that triggered this conflict, your intentions behind the event, and your perspective. Suzette will then move to Ianthe. Ianthe, at this point you will share how you felt specifically impacted, what about the event triggered you, and your perspective. Once you have both completed offering your perspectives, Suzette provide an opportunity for others to share how they were personally impacted by the event.

Again, the goal is to provide an opportunity to identify the harm done by the MLK event and ways to repair the harm for the School of Theatre and Dance to move forward as a community.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns prior to the session. As of now the session will being at 5pm and take place in the CPA Theatre. If you have any concerns about your ability to participate please let me know prior to the RJ.

Thanks again for airing your perspective in this structured manner, creating a wonderfully educational moment for your community!”

i’m not about to have an anxiety attack over this fool

y’all know i have such bad social anxiety i can’t even speak in class without my voice shaking and my mouth getting dry most of the time

ugh ugh ugh this is just a private mediation made public.

this is not an individual issue.

ima bring the comments people left me on the petition because what triggered me is the fact that nobody gave a damn about yet another racist microaggression

i need to do this debate team style and be prepared for all the usual nonapologies

i need to be ready.

1. “restorative justice session” to be held on tuesday at 5pm to ~discuss~. members of the black student union, black grad association, diversity advocacy, naacp and others will be present along with school of theatre members . this is the next CONCRETE step.

2. we can finally pan out the discussion from just this one incident to how it reflects the attitudes and problems of the department and campus as a whole. how having a racist MLK party 4 years in a row demonstrates a lack of awareness and understanding, how defending it does the same, and what can be done to address these issues. it was never really just about this ONE guy (though this one guy is still an asshole and still owes the whole world an apology and public admission of racist action at the VERY VERY least), but the climate that surrounds him and allowed this party to continue for 4 years without anybody saying anything, or being able to say anything

some issues that the MLK party has put a spotlight on  - 

• what it means for something or someone to be “racist”
• microaggressions and how they damage individuals and groups
• the inability to discuss race frankly, instead opting for bullshit silencing kumbayah, we’re-all-a-family, why-can’t-we-just-get-along rhetoric
• the fact that the climate of the department has made people who wanted to speak up afraid because they know it will affect their standing with their peers or their ability to get cast in productions
• the ways that ISU as a school has failed to address issues of racism in any major way
• the fact that the theatre department has one token ~multicultural~ show per season
• the fact that these tokenized productions are not given the same weight, commitment, effort, understanding or respect
• the lack of world theatre history education
• the class called “Theatre History” only representing popular hegemonic western theatre history
• racist comments made by faculty
• general lack of knowledge of white privilege and oppression
• whether ISU is preparing artists who can think critically about their art, or just craftspeople who have pursued a trade

so while i encourage you all to continue circulating the petition, know that this discussion and action will not stop with robert, and if you have any suggestions for where to go next please let me know. right now my top two are proposing a world theatre history class and renaming our current theatre history class 

also, for the record — ISU has a history of having super racist black history month dinners too (check out their idea of hispanic heritage month dinner), and if they’re so bold as to do that again this month, don’t worry

you’ll be hearing from me

thanks for all your support, you guys fucking rock, i hope i’m making you proud