Stacyann Chin and the Importance of Organization

While I was not able to attend Stacyann Chin’s event at Shoolroy Theater last night, as Co-President of Wooster’s Black Women’s Organization, I had the opportunity to sit down with Stacyann Chin for lunch with leaders of other student organizations on campus. It was a family-style lunch and we all sat at a long table. Discussion went into the direction of politics on campus and many different leaders explained various situations that have occurred on campus. Conversation seemed to often go back to racial incidents. We talked to Stacyann Chin about how hard it was to get administration to take action when students came to them about incidents on campus. Ms. Chinn asked us specifically what we wanted to come out of investigations and a lot of us said we wanted these people to be held accountable. Whether it be expulsion or revoking someone’s scholarship, many leaders called for individuals to be held accountable. Stacyann Chin did a great job of explaining to us that those types of demands are unrealistic and that it is important to organize and come up with reasonable goals and outcomes and bring those things to administration all together. When she told us this, I had never really realized or took seriously the importance of strategizing and organizing. In addition, it is important to control your emotions and not have how you feel get ahead of strategizing and organizing. Stacyann Chin offered some valuable advice and I plan to use it when it comes to racial incidents on campus. As young adults, it is often hard to think and work logically in the presences of overwhelming emotions, but after listening to Stacyann Chin, I plan to intentionally work towards doing these things.