Working With Student Stories to Challenge Oppression on Campus: An Interview with Deandra Cadet, Director of InterAction
Editor’s Note: In the fall of 2016, Deandra Cadet, the Founding Director of Interaction, a nonprofit that uses theater to address racism and other forms of oppression on college campuses, took one of our “Introduction to Digital Storytelling” webinars. We reached out to her afterwards, and we're currently talking about how to integrate digital storytelling into the organization’s work. In this piece, which continues our Social Justice Blog Series, StoryCenter staff member Amy Hill interviews Deandra about the role of storytelling in creating inclusive campus and communities.
Interaction team members encouraging students to share their stories
Amy: Can you tell a story about your own college experience and what led you to develop your current work with student stories?
Deandra: I still remember the feelings of inspiration and challenge I had, sitting in the audience of Show Some Skin: The Race Monologues my freshman year at Notre Dame. I was blown away by real, vulnerable, and diverse experiences of students at my own university on race, exclusion, and invisibility. Those stories challenged my own preconceived notions about how racism affects the way we move throughout the world. It was a level of rawness I had never felt before. A long conversation with my floor mates after the performance, about what we just witnessed, carried me for the next three years. Hearing those stories validated experiences that I had but could never put words to, and woke me up. From that moment, I dedicated myself to creating more platforms for unheard voices to be shared and processed. Once I was on the receiving end of similar stories, I felt even more responsibility to make change and have an influence.
The drive to develop InterAction came from the collective desire of a small group of Show Some Skin alums and faculty at Notre Dame to share these unheard voices with more individuals across the country, and to bring to light more stories. The spark came from the realization that stories can have an impact beyond the stage. When they reach the classroom, are used in training, or are used to develop a solution, that’s when we truly make change. So my friends and I began to think what would it be like to develop an organization whose mission was to channel personal stories about racism and other forms of oppression into social change efforts. We saw from our own experiences that we need proactive rather than reactive solutions to diversity and inclusion, and that our processes should be sustainable over time. We knew that the arts and theater offered a unique way of reaching people, so we began to develop strategies rooted in storytelling that can contribute to building fully inclusive communities.
Amy: What was it that inspired you to work with students' personal stories, as a way of changing the campus climate, and how have you gone about gathering stories?
Deandra: At InterAction, we strive to create more inclusive communities for students so that they are seen, heard, and valued on their campuses. At the outset, we weren’t focused on policy change. I think there was more of a desire to start an honest conversation where one wasn’t present, which is most definitely still needed. Each year, the Story Board would come together and release a call for stories, which included writing prompts with questions we wanted to ask our community. We would spend about two months building relationships, spreading the word, and organizing events to help students to write their stories. We found out that the collection of stories is also a form of ethnography. The stories can truly tell a community what is really happening. The stories, as complex and nuanced as they are, go far beyond any survey that might be done. The students typically collect stories anonymously, so there is a sort of rawness to them, because many people are sharing thoughts and experiences they may not have told anyone about. It was when the administration at Notre Dame started asking for video clips of specific stories because they wanted to look into the issue raised, and when faculty started using these videos in their classrooms, that we really started to see the potential of the stories.
Interaction co-founders Deandra Cadet and Taeyin ChoGlueck presenting at TedxNotreDame in 2015
Amy: How have audiences reacted, to the performances you’ve done?
Deandra: The performed stories have had a powerful effect on audiences. Storytelling is accessible, and the theatre experience opens the door for more people to listen to these voices. The actors truly bring to life the different emotions of the story or event. It feels as if you are in someone’s living room and you are his or her trusted friend. As an audience member, being in that theatre and hearing the experiences of people who could be your roommate, your professor, your neighbor, localizes the story but doesn’t entirely individualize it. Just recently, an audience member said in a talkback after a performance that after watching it, she felt a sense of responsibility.
It’s also interesting to see how the stories collected back in 2011 still speak to us today. These stories that are relevant over time shine light into structural problems shared across communities. By using theater and anonymous stories, we have found it easier for people to engage in conversation afterwards. Those who don’t feel comfortable having these difficult conversations are able to participate more. You’d be surprised how the stories can cross communities and resonate with different groups of people. They have a lot to teach us about how oppression actually plays out in the everyday and how everyday people can teach us how to be more empathetic and build healthy relationships across difference.
Amy: What challenges do you see as especially crucial, given the new political reality?
Deandra: I see the importance of not viewing the stories as singular or isolated. Our stories and lives are interconnected. Oppression as well is interconnected. In order to truly develop solutions, we need to really take the time to delve into the stories and understand what is influencing them. I know it's a difficult goal, but I don't want anyone leaving a room, theater, or classroom after listening to the stories and thinking, “That has nothing to do with me.” Issues of racism, sexism, homophobia, islamophobia, mental illness, and ableism impact all our lives. It's important to see this, especially as people become more active in their communities and have the desire to become allies.
Amy: What new directions do you see for your organization, now that you've been around for a few years?
Deandra: We’re excited to continue to branch out and engage with more students on different college campuses in the Midwest and beyond. We love getting on new campuses and collaborating with passionate, driven students who are committed to making change. We hope that as we grow, our campus programs will be able to collaborate with one another, share each other’s stories, and share best practices on how to build inclusion. What I’m most excited about is taking on a larger role in advocating for the creation of more inclusive environments for students from marginalized and underrepresented backgrounds. I think the conversation around campus diversity and inclusion tends to be limited to free speech, safe spaces, and hiring. We need to think critically about what inclusion actually looks like. So I’m looking forward to learning from other organizations doing great work in other sectors.
View a short video focused on InterAction’s work.
Interested in the relationship between digital storytelling and advocacy? Register now for our new, free webinar on the topic, scheduled for Wed. May 24 at 10 am Pacific / 1 pm Eastern!