"Demystifying the Indian Woman"; "Sex: Transcending Racial Barriers and Finding God"; "Turning you on by sounding you off".
These are just a few of the student submissions in the University's upcoming Beyond the Comfort Zone: Race, Sex and God awards competition, part of the Race, Sex and God Festival that begins today at 4 p.m.
Twelve student exhibits will be displayed in the West-Edens Link's McClendon Tower throughout the weekend.
The submissions--which explore the topics of race, sex and God--all represent different residential houses, including East Campus dormitories, West Campus dormitories and selective living groups.
Deb LoBiondo, assistant dean of residence life and housing services and a Race, Sex and God committee member, is optimistic about the goals for the festival.
"I hope there will be a good turnout and people will view the projects with an open mind," she said. "I also hope the exhibition will encourage dialogue."
Leon Dunkley, director of the Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture and another committee member, was pleased with the quality of the student submissions. "Those projects that are here are very challenging and courageous," he said. "They're really fabulous."
The criteria for judging the competition entries have not yet been set, but members of the committee plan to meet tonight to discuss the submissions and begin the evaluation process.
One exhibit from Edens Quadrangle, entitled "Sex: Transcending Racial Barriers and Finding God," is comprised of a newspaper and magazine mosaic sculpture of an intertwined man and woman.
Prism, a multicultural selective living group, submitted a wall mounting called "L'Homme Fragile" displaying quotes, Bible passages, poems and pictures of models. Specially chosen music--including songs like "Brown Skin," "Misrepresented People," "Who's There" and "Retrospect for Life"--accompany the exhibit.
Eight Round Table members submitted a project entitled "Race, Sex and God: Five Majors' Perspectives." Each of the submission's five elements explores the issues of race, sex and God from the viewpoint of a different major: public policy, English, computer sciences, biological anthropology and anatomy, and a Program II curriculum in decision-making theory.
"Each major explores the topics of race, sex and God with a different question," said senior Adam Hartstone-Rose, director of the Round Table submission. "What we learned is that even though these topics can be approached from any and mostly all the majors in academia, you need to combine all the majors and view [the topics] from all angles for a deeper perspective."
The festival will continue Sunday with an 11 a.m. worship service in Duke Chapel. Reverend Regina Henderson, another committee member and director of the Church and Society Servant-Leader Initiative, will speak on the issues of race, sex and God.
An awards ceremony and closing reception will culminate the weekend following the service.
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