Throw the political correctness out the window. This isn't the place for it.

You don't have to make it sound pretty, just truthful. Say what you think, and think about what others say.

This is the premise of "Conversations on Race," a program created at IU three years ago that raises race relations to a new level. Racial barriers are broken, spirits are broken, but more importantly, barriers of ignorance are chipped away with the simple chisel of dialogue.

CoR brings together students and leaders in small groups each semester to discuss race, discrimination and their personal feelings about such subjects. The CommUNITY Education Program, which promotes respect and understanding in the residence halls, and the Division of Residential Programs and Services organize the program.

Twelve students, including myself, from different economic and ethnic backgrounds, met in a group for five weeks in October and November, trying to break the ice and understand racism.

As the diversity beat reporter for the Indiana Daily Student, this was the ultimate diversity story for me. While various IU cultural centers and events serve as insightful windows to numerous perspectives and traditions, Conversations on Race expands on the "bigger picture" of diversity issues by stripping down the topics to their generic aspects.

We met in the windowless lounge in Teter Quad's basement, complete with a distracting buzzing from the heater. Despite the nearby busy laundry room, our meeting area remained intimate and unbothered.

It was our own space for two hours each week -- our own forum. When the conversations began, the buzzing sound and basement surroundings were tuned out.

LET THE DIALOGUE BEGIN

Before we could begin sharing our opinions, we had to understand the many facets of racism and discrimination.

"There are so many avenues of discrimination," freshman Larry Clark said during the group's first meeting. "When you try and combat racism without this idea, we're never going to get anywhere."

The group explored the various avenues, such as the idea that racism isn't just a black-and-white issue.

Four weeks into the program, when freshman Padrick Anderson voiced concern about his friends' close-minded comments, his tone became thick with emotion. He explained that his friends don't seem to understand why he, as a white man, worries so much about racism.

"Many times when I try to defend issues about race and discrimination, people demand to know why I should care," Anderson said. "I'm not gay, Hispanic or a woman, so they wonder why I care if people discriminate against them, and I never have an answer they like. I just wish people would be more open-minded."

Another issue we tackled was what being white means. For sophomore Kristen Lizer, the program chipped away her naivete about race issues -- and she came to realize that whites are sometimes oblivious to their skin color.

"I haven't really had to deal with race because I've never really considered myself white, and I've never had to qualify myself," Lizer said. Other group members nodded in agreement. Eight of the 12 group members were white, while two others were black, one was Asian and one identified himself as "mixed."

CHALLENGING PRE-CONCEIVED NOTIONS

Ka Lai Chan, who came to study at IU from Hong Kong last fall, wasn't afraid to express her astonishment about how some Americans vocally express their opinions. Chan conveyed surprise when sophomore Ebony Simpson became angry after a video we watched aired a racist comment. A white man in the video said he didn't believe discrimination exists and didn't understand why blacks become emotional about the issue.

Simpson raised her voice and waved her hands, saying the man couldn't begin to understand how blacks feel about racism.

"I've been taught not to be so emotional, that you should always act proper and quiet," Chan said to Simpson after the video.

"I'm a very vocal person, and I like to express my opinion about things," Simpson replied. "But I realize there's a time and place for everything. I'm trying to control my temper."

And this was the time and place for discussion.

While Chan and Simpson came to terms with their different cultures, freshman Jacqueline Smith expressed her day-to-day frustrations with racism.

Smith told the group about the time when she visited her friend's hometown, and her friend and others were making racist comments.

"I don't think they realized how angry it made me," Smith said. "I felt so hopeless."

Although Smith's voice remained quiet during the discussions, her animated body language displayed her frustration.

"I didn't know what to do," she said.

Group members listened attentively as Smith shared her frustration.

"I understand how you feel. You don't want to be the diversity police and act as the bad guy," group leader Brandi Vardiman, a senior, said to Smith. "It's just like everything else in life. You have to pick your battles and tell them how you feel."

The hopeless expressions soon faded into a common concern felt throughout the group: What's the solution to all of this? Will the conflict ever end?

CONNECTING TO THE PAST

Although we have come a long way in 40 years -- since the Civil Rights Movement and when segregation was legal -- the bitter taste of racial slurs, ethnocentrism and discrimination still exists.

With the celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday this week, the issues of racial equality and acceptance ring a timely tune. But we face these matters everyday.

Through CoR, we realized these conflicts don't have simple solutions, but we felt we were working toward answers

by discussing the struggles.

"It still feels like there is this glass-ceiling idea lingering in our society for different races," Vardiman said. "People have their negative stereotypes. But instead of being proactive, we have to be reactive and stand up for ourselves. You don't want to have to inform someone every time they make a racial slur. But these conversations are definitely part of the solution."

'EYE-OPENING'

During the final session, we reminisced about the previous meetings and discussed what came out of the experience. Each participant sketched their feelings on a large yellow poster that was later presented at the CoR closing celebration. Peace signs, hearts and the Japanese word for "friend" dotted the rolled-out paper.

Lizer drew a large eye, accompanied by the phrase "eye-opening" in calligraphy.

"I've never been put in this position to talk about race," Lizer said as she glanced back at her drawing. "Just listening to what everyone has to say has been really eye-opening for me."

Chan carefully sketched an image of an arrow rising out of a mouth and flying into an ear.

"Listening is so important," Chan said as the group looked at her drawing. "We can't block messages or opinions from other races."

She paused as she gathered her thoughts.

"Too often we look at things in terms of right or wrong and win or lose, but what we should be doing is trying to communicate with each other and explain why we have certain opinions," Chan said. "When someone makes a racist comment, instead of blaming them we should ask them why they feel that way."

After we finished the drawing, our sketches became the center of our discussion.

"You're all going to deal with this for the rest of your lives," said Doug Bauder, a group leader and coordinator of IU's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Student Support Services Office. "There's no one simple answer to all of this, but that's the challenge you'll take from this program."

REFLECTIONS

Since CoR's inception in 2000, more than 400 students have participated in the program, which was created by Bauder and Barry Magee, assistant director for diversity education for Residential Programs and Services.

At the program's closing celebration in early November, the session's 14 small groups united at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center to share their experiences and present their posters while University officials lauded the students for their dedication.

"In spite of all of your good efforts, the conflict (of racism) still exists," said Bill Shipton, director for Residential Programs and Services and co-chair of IU's Racial Incidents Team. "But the key is not to ignore it. Conversations on Race forces us to sit in our awkwardness, to hear pain, to share pain, and to be in confusion. And that is the beauty of what you have accomplished."

Although we accomplished a great deal at CoR, we have only scratched the surface. I hope these truthful conversations can continue at IU beyond the perimeters of the program.

It's time for us to place our racial disparities aside and genuinely try to understand each other. IU champions itself in its mission statement for fostering and celebrating diversity, and CoR sparks the push for racial understanding.

Now let your own conversations begin.

To learn more about CoR, visit www.iub.edu/~cor. The tentative date for the spring session is March 8-9 at Bradford Woods.