Real Talk Dialogues create a safe space for minority Terps

Ahkila Vishnubhotla, Coordinator of Student Engagement for College Park Scholars and Anissa Scharborough, a resident director within the Cambridge Community talking with students at the Real Talk Dialogues event on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022.

The University of Maryland College Park Scholars hosted Real Talk Dialogues on Oct. 20 for minority students to have a safe space to share experiences on campus. 

Real Talk Dialogues are hosted bi-weekly on Thursdays in the Cambridge Community Center. The event is located in room 1205 and typically starts at 6 p.m. 

The dialogues were created by Jeany Cadet and Brent Hernandez, who were both on central staff for College Park Scholars. Hernandez is now the director of graduate student services, and Cadet still works on central staff for scholars as the assistant director for admissions.

They found that a lot of non-white students, specifically Black students, would come to their offices with complaints, worries and concerns. This sparked the creation of Real Talk dialogues for students to be able to share what was on their minds in a safe space where people supported and uplifted each other.

The event is now run by four facilitators, including Jeany Cadet, Akhila Vishnubhotla, Markell Saunders and Anissa Scharborough. 

“It was very organic and was what students needed at the time,” said Ahkila Vishnubhotla, Coordinator of Student Engagement for College Park Scholars. 

It started out with just College Park Scholars, but is not exclusive to scholars students. It's overseen by the program’s administrative staff but is open for any students to participate in the discussion. 

Students come to this event to meet fellow scholars, learn about more events taking place on campus and learn about monumental moments in pop culture that may catch their interest. 

“Say you just want to vent or talk about things no one else is going to understand. You have that space and people can hear you out, listen to you, and give you advice,” said Ashley Lun, a freshman government and politics major in the Justice and Legal Though Scholars program. 

The topics discussed in this meeting included Halloween costumes and what is considered cultural appropriation. TikTok trends that fetishize Black people and promote appropriation and the different experiences between generations of Black people were also discussed among the attendees. They also brought up critical race theory during the discussion.

The students in attendance at this week’s meeting took turns sharing stories from their first few weeks of being on campus. These stories took an emotional turn as one student opened up to the group about a demeaning situation she faced with a peer that really hurt her. 

“The fact that she felt comfortable and vulnerable enough to share that is a testament to this event,” said Vishnubhotla.

Additionally, students felt as though minorities were represented well in the student body of College Park Scholars. However, students felt that administrative and teaching roles lacked Black representation in the College Park Scholars program 

“My role here is to be that person that I needed in undergrad a lot of times. We also did not have spaces like this all the time, so to be able to be that for someone else is rewarding,” said Anissa Scharborough, a resident director within the Cambridge Community.

This week’s event was small with four students and two facilitators. However, the facilitators felt a smaller group creates a more intimate space for students to feel comfortable sharing vulnerable thoughts and feelings.

“I feel like I'm getting closer with everyone and making new friends. I'll definitely show up to other meetings, and definitely tell other people about it so more people will be here,” said Michelle Togbe, a freshman biochemistry major in the Justice and Legal Though Scholars program.