Week 9

This week in Fye we watched the film that followed the young Cuban American Elian Gonzalez.  In earlier weeks we discussed this little boy. We accessed this documentary through Kanopy. The film showed how Elian and his family were treated after he was found. The documentary follows the story of how the American Government, Fidel Castro, and the people of both countries responsed to Elian being found in United States water. While watching the film I thought it was really sad how Elian was forced to parade in front of the press at odd hours during both day and night. I think that this situation would not be healthy for any kid and put young Elian in a compromising situation. Ultimately, Elian’s father got custody of him and took him home to spend the rest of their lives in Cuba. As a result of this, Elian remained loyal to Castro who had grown fond of him. Many Americans then questioned whether or not the American government made the right decision. Allowing the child to go home eventually led to his devotion to the Communist party in Cuba. In other news, there was a protest that took place. It began at the rotunda and proceeded to the location where students burned books last week. The shock of Jenine Crucet’s talk can still be felt on campus and it continues to be a relevant subject on campus. In class we read a list of quotes from her talk and how students responded to her. We then discussed how this talk made many of us feel and how it has impacted our campus. A lot of people found Crucet’s tone to be condescending. However, we did come to the conclusion that some of what she said is true for our society. In class we further discussed white privilege and how people of color have to worry in many circumstances that other people would not have to. I hope that in the next couple of weeks our campus can resolve this conflict and show compassion to one another. 
Word count: 344

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