Spring Break
No topic too explicit for Milano
Katie Hannafin
Issue date: 2/4/09 Section: Focus
Political correctness took a backseat to curiosity as students questioned each other about diversity Wednesday night in the Student Union Theater at the "I can't believe you said it" lecture.
Phillip Milano, the outspoken keynote speaker of the evening, encouraged an interrupted, no-holds-barred environment for his lecture a necessary encouragement for the audience to feel remotely comfortable with the discussions that were soon-to-come. Milano apologized in advance if anyone took offense to any part of the discussions to come.
"I'd rather offend your sensitivities tonight that have all of you carrying around a bag of stereotypes and myths like so many do," he said. "But how can we talk about the larger social issues at hand in America's culture today when you can't even know a specific thing about a particular person right in front of you?"
Milano is the founder of YForum.com, which allows people to anonymously ask and answer unclenching questions about differences, as well as the author of two books. His lecture Wednesday night featured several provocative questions that people from all over the country have posted on the Web site, with an ultimate Q&A about race, sex, religion, culture and other terrifying topics among the audience. He also has a very modernized Dear Abby-type column called Dare to Ask in The Florida Times Union that people often write to with their curiosities.
"I really liked how there was no topic that was off the table," said Kate Church, a 6th-semester biology major. "And even though the topics were so extreme, he remained grounded and politically correct."
It is his hope that by persuading participants to get real about asking, answering, and learning about themselves and each other, the result is a better understanding and appreciation of differences as well as the tools to tackle sensitive subjects in the future.
"Today's politically correct culture often stifles our natural curiosity about people different from ourselves and keeps us from asking the questions that are really on our mind," Milano said.
Phillip Milano, the outspoken keynote speaker of the evening, encouraged an interrupted, no-holds-barred environment for his lecture a necessary encouragement for the audience to feel remotely comfortable with the discussions that were soon-to-come. Milano apologized in advance if anyone took offense to any part of the discussions to come.
"I'd rather offend your sensitivities tonight that have all of you carrying around a bag of stereotypes and myths like so many do," he said. "But how can we talk about the larger social issues at hand in America's culture today when you can't even know a specific thing about a particular person right in front of you?"
Milano is the founder of YForum.com, which allows people to anonymously ask and answer unclenching questions about differences, as well as the author of two books. His lecture Wednesday night featured several provocative questions that people from all over the country have posted on the Web site, with an ultimate Q&A about race, sex, religion, culture and other terrifying topics among the audience. He also has a very modernized Dear Abby-type column called Dare to Ask in The Florida Times Union that people often write to with their curiosities.
"I really liked how there was no topic that was off the table," said Kate Church, a 6th-semester biology major. "And even though the topics were so extreme, he remained grounded and politically correct."
It is his hope that by persuading participants to get real about asking, answering, and learning about themselves and each other, the result is a better understanding and appreciation of differences as well as the tools to tackle sensitive subjects in the future.
"Today's politically correct culture often stifles our natural curiosity about people different from ourselves and keeps us from asking the questions that are really on our mind," Milano said.
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