Clockwise from left: sophomore Wynee Bao, third place in the IFF/Center for Global Studies essay contest; junior Sophie Shenk, honorable mention; English teacher Adele Mazurek-Suslick; freshman Kathy Qiu, second place. Senior Elaine Gu was the first-place winner but was absent when this group photo was taken. Gargoyle photo by David Porreca (click to enlarge)

URBANA — Uni students won the top three prizes in the Dialogue is the Key to the Future writing contest for Illinois high school students.

Senior Elaine Gu won first place, freshman Kathy Qiu second, and sophomore Wynee Bao third in the competition, which was sponsored by the Intercultural Friendship Foundation and the Center for Global Studies at the University of Illinois.

In addition, junior Sophie Shenk was one of three students to win honorable mention.

The students will be honored 6:30 p.m. May 14 at the Urbana Civic Center.

For their achievements, Gu will receive an iPod Touch, Qiu an iPod Nano, and Bao a gift card to Borders for $100.

The contest gave students two topic choices: defining "self" and "other" while proposing ways to overcome ethnocentrism, or attending two different cultural events in the community and writing about the experience.

Gu, Qiu, and Shenk are students of English teacher Adele Mazurek-Suslick; Qiu is in Freshman English, while Gu and Shenk are in Hero's Journey.

"I initially just wrote it for the class," said Gu, "not really intending on actually entering the contest. But Mrs. Suslick turned the essay back to me and encouraged me to enter it in the contest, saying that it had winning potential."

In her essay, Gu talks about how people should be open-minded and how misunderstandings between various groups can lead to many conflicts. She also proposes different ways in which both individuals and the community can fight ethnocentricity.

Here is an excerpt from her essay:

We all grow up in a distinct environment. From our earliest years, we are taught to think and behave in a particular way. In America, young children are taught to brush their teeth twice a day, take daily showers, and respect their elders. It is normal for parents to have multiple children and to send their children to school. We are taught that adultery is immoral, that we should allow freedom of speech, and that political leaders should be elected through a democratic process. Because we have been taught this way, we are ethnocentric and believe that the way our culture does things is the right way. After all, why else would those around us be behaving and thinking in the same manner as us? We hold a closed mind toward other cultures, and when we hear of a culture behaving or thinking differently from us, our minds automatically register those behaviors or thoughts as "wrong" or "weird."

[…]

Ethnocentrism leads to misunderstandings and hostilities between various cultures. The extreme ethnocentrism of Hitler led to the genocide of over six million Jews in World War II, and the ethnocentrism of white Americans led to racial segregation in the 1900s. Throughout history, ethnocentrism has been the root of wars and conflicts. As a result, it's important to overcome ethnocentricity to create a more peaceful world.

In Qiu's essay, she discusses current problems with racism and discrimination and how people in Champaign-Urbana can learn more about other cultures.

Here is an excerpt:

In many of today's communities, as certain members become increasingly ethnocentric, there is less overall intercultural communication and dialogue. As a result, people have little interest and respect for other cultures, leading to intolerance and unawareness among members with different sociocultural backgrounds. This lack of dialogue between various groups has become a mounting issue all over the world. In order for a community to break through these barriers and promote friendship between members bearing different ethnicities, each and every individual must be willing to accept people from other cultures.

[…]

A more active way of pursuing this goal would be to attend different cultural or religious gatherings. By doing so, one can not only better understand various cultures through experience, but can also become acquainted with community members who bear diverse sociocultural backgrounds. This, too, would ultimately lead to friendship and tolerance between different groups. In the Champaign-Urbana community, there are numerous opportunities for this, such as the annual Kwanzaa potluck, the Chinese New Year celebration, the Holi celebration organized by the Indian Cultural Society, and the Eid-ul Fitr celebration.

Bao's essay is different from the other two. Unlike Gu and Qiu, Bao reasons that ethnocentrism will always be present in society and that there is no way to put an end to it.

Here is an excerpt:

It is difficult for me to look at a perspective of the world involving the "bigger picture" since my entire life has so far only been viewed through the large end of the telescope. Although the only basis for my argument is my minimal high school education and my own observations and outlook on life, I will attempt what many people more favored by society have tried. I will attempt to explain racism, its distortions based on human nature, and why something as simple as dialogue is a failure as an attempt to bridge connections between different cultures.

[…]

For a while, I played with the idea of finding a solution that could "overcome ethnocentrism." Then I realized that no matter what, ethnocentrism is always prevalent in society (especially since you often live around people of the same race or religion, which often tells you something about yourself). Perhaps global brainwashing, or something irrational like Communism could solve the crisis that has such deep roots with the workings of humans.