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Mechanical Engineering students learn each other’s boundaries

First-year students at the Department of Mechanical Engineering attended a theater performance on social safety produced by the Time Out Foundation, as a new mandatory part of their curriculum. After each scene, the audience reflected on the situation that was enacted. This led to interesting responses, but more in-depth dialogue has yet to take place.

by
photo Odette Beekmans

The Blauwe Zaal fills up with students. On their seats, they find a flyer listing the various contact points and desks at the university relating to well-being and social safety. They also find an orange card on which they can write what they thought of the performance and share tips on how the university could improve social safety. The students are about to watch a play by theater group Time Out called Safe Space.

The play consists of multiple scenes covering a variety of situations, such as unwanted touching and racism. In between, the audience is asked to reflect on them. Students eagerly fill out the online Mentimeter when asked to do so, but are reluctant to discuss their justifications with the audience. 

Program

The play is part of the Social Safety program at Mechanical Engineering. It is one of four mandatory components in the Personal and Professional Development (P&PD) learning trajectory. The performance marks the start of a longer trajectory in which students learn about social safety and inclusion. The fact that it is a mandatory component for students is quite unique. Apart from TU/e, only Maastricht University takes this approach.

The program was launched in response to nationwide reports of transgressive behavior among students and concerns within the department that confirm these reports. In early April, staff members of the same department attended a different performance on social safety. This left a deep impression on the audience.

A safe space

The play starts with some rules of conduct to create a safe environment, followed by the introduction of a Social Safety Coach named Dorine. She is a computer program that scans the room for unsafe situations. A section of the floor is delineated with red tape, creating a physical “safe space” on stage.

When the character Arnoud, a white man of advanced age, presses a red button to indicate he wants to use the safe space, loud music starts to play. “Turn it off, douchebag,” his co-star responds, prompting Dorine to intervene. “I detect an unsafe situation.” It turns out that creating a safe environment is easier said than done.

In the following scenes, situations are enacted in which boundaries are overstepped. From housemates pressuring each other to drink alcohol and a professor placing his hand on a student’s bottom, to racism and the threshold for reporting it. 

Perpetrator's perspective

Later on in the play, the focus shifts from the victims to the perpetrators. What if you are the one who oversteps a boundary? The audience is asked to stand up. They are presented with three statements are supposed to sit down if they agree. For the statement, “I know when I have overstepped someone’s boundary,” the majority of the audience remains standing. The same happens for the statements “I know someone who has overstepped a boundary” and “I have personally overstepped someone else’s boundary”.

The students sit back down and the actors take turns recounting moments when they themselves have overstepped boundaries. The message is that you can overstep a boundary and still be a good person. Then, an actress shouts: “Why should we give attention to the perpetrators? It’s the victims who deserve attention for once!” Emotions run high. A heated discussion ensues with everyone talking over each other, within the taped-off safe space on stage. In a cacophony of opinions and emotions, intensified by video footage of hazings and student life, the play ends abruptly. 

Reflection

During the reflection afterwards, students are asked which scene they relate to the most. It turns out to be the final scene. A student explains that he chose this scene because he notices that in conversations about transgressive behavior, people tend to react based on their emotions, which only complicates open dialogue.

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Interestingly, the majority of students could relate most to the character Arnoud. Photo: Norbine Schalij.

When asked which character they related to the most, the vast majority choose the character Arnoud. This character is the professor who put his hand on a student’s bottom as well as the embodiment of the white man with an “I-can’t-say-anything-anymore” mentality. Someone who does consider social safety important, but mainly experiences personal limitations as a result.

Never before did Janine Schott from Time Out see so many people choose Arnoud. “Without judgment, this makes me very curious as to the reason why, but it’s difficult to say because they didn’t substantiate their choice.”

Not taken seriously

The skewed male-to-female ratio is also brought up in the post-performance discussion. At the department, 15 percent are women and 85 percent are men. The audience is asked to respond to that. What is that like? A male student explains that he understands it can be difficult for women. They are in the minority but still want to feel included. After that, the room falls silent.

When the women in the audience are asked if they feel comfortable speaking up when their boundaries are overstepped, a female student responds that this is not the case, and that when someone complains about it, it is not taken seriously. When the audience is asked if they agree with this, hardly anyone raises their hand. However, when asked who thinks that complaints are taken seriously, again, almost all hands stay down.

Another female student mentions that she often notices that fellow students get unpleasant remarks when they ask a question in the lecture hall. They are ridiculed for their accent, she points out as an example. She courageously calls on her fellow students to be vigilant about this. “Be kinder and make sure everyone feels comfortable.”

Schott: “I thought it was incredibly brave that some women dared to speak up, but this is only the first step in creating a safe environment. A performance and a discussion afterwards are not enough. Our main goal here is to create awareness, so that the university and students start to ask themselves: what do we want to do about this?” That is what the program will continue to work on. Later this year, there will be a follow-up workshop for these students.

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