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As a result, they held a "Discussion on Race" forum back at school. About 25 students attended, a mix of InterVarsity students and their non-Christian friends. About half were white, with the rest being a mix of ethnic minorities. It was an amazingly fruitful time as students shared hurts, expressed frustrations, asked questions and listened attentively to one another. For many of the white students it was a time of admitting and expressing fears about dealing with this topic, and recognizing their need to repent of the ways their fears have prevented them from loving people who are of a different race.

Staff member Ken Zell explains, "I think white students are terrified of making a mistake. There is a paralysis that comes from fearing that they may say the wrong thing, or say something the wrong way, or ask a question that is offensive etc. This fear of making a mistake is intensified by how emotionally charged this subject can be. So the white students often end up tiptoeing on eggshells in order to avoid saying or doing something that would unleash racial hurt or anger upon them."

The remedy? Ken continues, "It’s crucial to build a sense of trust among the students so that they know it is okay to get angry with each other and to be open and honest, even if it might cause an emotional reaction. If they know they are committed to each other and to reconciliation, this serves as a foundation for honest dialogue."

Ken’s observation is that, for the majority of white students, there is still much fear and trepidation to enter into the emotionally charged fray. "Often it’s uncomfortable," Ken perceives, "and they feel out of their element or ignorant about the subject. Sometimes they fear that they will be perceived to some degree as the bad guy even though they feel like they haven’t done anything wrong." All of these factors contribute to some of the fears Ken sees in his white students as they have begun to deal with this subject.

For many of the ethnic minority students, the forum was very freeing. It was the first time many of them were able to talk about how race has influenced their life on campus. John Kwak, a senior, reflected, "I finally feel like I’ve had an opportunity to express the difficulties I’ve faced as a Korean-American on this campus. Before, I didn’t even know that these types of feelings were proper to express, even within my own Christian community. There is a tremendous unspoken pressure to adjust to the majority white culture here. Often I feel the conflict within myself between wanting to be valued, understood and accepted as a Korean-American, and yet feeling like I need to change in order to fit in. John and many of the other ethnic minority students were very encouraged to be able to share their different experiences and to see their white brothers and sisters listen to them and express a desire for deeper reconciliation. As one Latino student put it, "I never knew there were any white students on this campus who cared about this issue."