St. Thomas community members participate in the “Wake Up Call” element of the tour. On the phone, they are hearing overheard conversations between landlords, tenants and potential renters that reveal unintended bias. (Taylor Shupe/TommieMedia)
In an effort to help students and community members explore their own unconscious biases, St. Thomas hosted the CEO Action Check Your Blind Spots unconscious bias tour Friday on Monahan Plaza.
Through immersive and interactive elements such as virtual reality and gaming technology, visitors were able to see how unconscious biases can influence their behaviors in certain environments.
“This is the opportunity for others to understand and see what others experience on a day to day basis,” said Justin Scott, one of the CEO Action coordinators.
A St. Thomas student participates in the “Perspective Matters” element, where they can see videos of conversations that show unwanted bias through virtual reality headsets. (Taylor Shupe/TommieMedia)
As one of 100 stops across the nation, the year-long bus tour is the start of a new initiative to spark dialogue about inclusion in workplaces and university campuses.
According to an email from President Sullivan, the tour is stopping on campus because Sullivan, along with 600 other higher education leaders and CEOs in the United States, is a signatory of the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion.
Within the last six months, the tour has made its way to 19 states in varying parts of the country. The bus stopped at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Tuesday and Wednesday before coming to St. Thomas.
Scott enjoys that traveling with this job allows him to meet new people from different cultures, continuing to broaden his outlooks on society.
“Just understanding that we’re all different but at the same time we’re all really alike, just different upbringings,” Scott said.
Students, local businesses and community members are encouraged to sign a pledge to address personal biases and drive inclusive behaviors. Sullivan has already signed the pledge.
St. Thomas students participate in an element called “Look Through a Different Lens,” where participants can watch and listen to an interaction between co-workers and identify moments when unconscious biases are demonstrated. (Taylor Shupe/TommieMedia)
“At the end of the tour we want to encourage you to continue this movement by being inclusive by taking the ‘I Act On’ pledge,” Scott said. “The ‘I Act On’ pledge is just a personal commitment for you to continue to be inclusive in everyday life.”
The bus was present on campus from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
“We got the email from President Sullivan, and I just thought it was interesting and a new way to learn about bias and racism and I think it’s really important for people to know about it and for me to learn more about it too,” student Leslie Diaz said.
The tour’s next stop is at Walmart headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas Sunday.
Ava Diaz can be reached at diaz7981@stthomas.edu.
Taylor Shupe can be reached at shup9397@stthomas.edu.
Tina O’Malley and Justin Amaker contributed to this report.