Perhaps the most dreaded facet of online 

learning is the Zoom Breakout Room, a 
wasteland of black screens and muted 
microphones and often silent, unrequited 
group work in a shared Google Document. 
And like Grant Wood’s “American Gothic,” 
the Zoom Breakout Room has come to 
define itself as a somber event of cultural 
permanence. It’s s the ultimate battleground 
of the virtual college experience and more 
deeply, one of the darkest underbellies of 
social interaction. My experiences in breakout 
rooms have left me questioning my peers’ 
integrity, maturity and emotional depth, but 
more importantly, have led me to a much 
more refined understanding of the human 
condition. You see, our experiences are not 
always novel or paramount: all of our hearts 
begin to race before we enter a breakout room, 
our palms begin to sweat and sometimes we 
stutter and ramble and overshare about our 
love for Jhumpa Lahiri or Audie Cornish from 
All Things Considered or Emily Ratajkowski’s 
essay on buying herself back. With this in 
mind, I have amassed a list of proven tips 
and tricks, through a lengthy process of trial 

and error, on conquering the Zoom Breakout 
Room once and for all. Use at your own 
discretion. 

1. Turn Your Camera On. Taking the 

initiative to turn your camera on in a breakout 
room can often be nerve wracking and 
nauseating especially when no one else has 
theirs on. People tend to mirror one another 
and turning mine on has almost always 
catalyzed a chain reaction of cameras turning 
on. It’s important to be aware that often people 
keep their cameras off because of external 
circumstances we may not understand. For 
this reason turning on cameras can be a hefty 
matter and one that should be approached 
with tact and care. Never force cameras to 
be turned on, this is a process that is best 
undertaken naturally. If you turn your camera 
on and no one follows suit, you should probably 
turn it back off. According to the students in 
my biology discussion breakout room, each 
breakout room has its own delightful bags of 
tricks and surprises and sometimes we get 
handed a smelly bag rotting at the seams. 

2. Ask People How They’re Doing. I start 

every conversation in breakout rooms I’m 
thrusted into by asking people how they are 
doing. This is a common courtesy and should 
always be asked. “How are you doing?” poses 
itself as an even more potent conversation starter 

in the midst of a pandemic. People are not often 
asked this question with sincerity, nor are we 
expected to answer honestly. It’s okay to not be 
doing well. It’s okay to be honest and open about 
failure. It opens the floor to productive dialogue 
and most importantly, renders the breakout 
room a safe virtual space for completing group 
work. Sometimes I don’t know the answer to the 
group work. Sometimes unprecedented events 
happen or we lose motivation or the world can 
become lean and mean for periods of time and 
we fall weeks behind in lectures or readings. 
That is OK. 

3. Ask People About Their Music Taste. 

People love to be understood, validated and 
heard in all kinds of ways. Music and sharing 
music presents itself as one of the most sacred 
forms of friendship and communication. 
People love to talk about music and more 
importantly, the kind of music they listen to, 
because by default it is an extension of the soul 
and the mind and the heart. Sometimes this 
doesn’t work and I’ll receive vague answers 
like I-listen-to everything-but-country but 
sometimes I’ll get things like Phoebe Bridgers 
(who I discovered through a breakout 
room!) and Ms. Lauryn Hill and Mos Def. 

Earlier this month, I was walking down 

South Forest Avenue with a friend of mine on 
a Friday night when two white men drove by 
us on the sidewalk. They rolled down their 
windows and one of them proceeded to shout 
at me to “get off the street” followed by the 
N-word. Two weeks later, I can still vividly recall 
the fear and discomfort I felt in the moment. 
The event, which happened mere blocks away 
from my apartment, turned what used to be a 
familiar street to me into a cruel reminder of the 
antiquated attitudes still existing everywhere 
in the United States, including (and especially) 
here, at the University of Michigan. It reminded 
me that, as African philosophy scholar Mabogo 
P. More once stated, “To live under the threat of 
non-being is to live in what existentialists call 
a condition of finitude, the constant possibility 
of disintegration and death and, therefore, 
anguish and anxiety.” This immense lack of 
control over the way society perceives us, as 
Black beings, has a tremendous impact on our 
lived experience. 

Nowadays, we often talk about racial 

oppression on a systemic level, typically 
from an economic standpoint by examining 
the impacts of structural inequality. But 
not nearly as often do we discuss the effects 
oppression has on the body, mind and soul 
of the oppressed being –– the disparaging 

impact that incessantly being perceived as an 
other, along with the ongoing relativization to 
the white norm, has on the psyche of the dis-
possessed subject. 

Steve Biko, a radical South African activist, 

wrote extensively on what it means to be 
Black in an anti-Black world. Before he was 
assassinated by the South African apartheid 
regime in 1977, he worked heavily with 
the South African Student Organization 
and contributed towards establishing the 
Black Consciousness Movement. This was 
a movement combining ideologies of Black 
Power, philosophical notions of (Black) 
consciousness and radical Christianity in 
order to empower Black people to assert their 
own autonomy and self-determination, thus 
challenging the white power structure. Biko 
believed, and once stated, “The most potent 
weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the 
mind of the oppressed.” I know firsthand 
what it’s like to carry the weight of a lifetime 
of internalized oppression. It’s an ongoing 
process to overcome the never-ending feelings 
of imposter syndrome, coupled with my 
increasingly negative self-esteem and body 
image after years and years of being socialized 
by our anti-Black society to hate myself.

It’s true that a lifetime of racialized 

oppression 
psychologically 
alters 
the 

conscious experience of the oppressed 
individual. According to Frantz Fanon, 
a radical Black political philosopher, this 
constant subjugation to violence results in the 

epidermalization of inferiority in the mind 
of the colonized subject. In other words, 
in attempting to subvert and mitigate the 
likelihood of discrimination, the oppressed 
individual will subconsciously strive to adhere 
to standards of whiteness, thus internalizing 
their oppression “in anticipation of the 
punitive norms.”

Growing up, I felt this internalization daily 

without even being aware of it. Living in a world 
where you’re constantly otherized, conscious of 
your racialized identity in relation to others or, 
as Biko referred to in his “On Death” chapter of 
his popular text “I Write What I Like,” facing 
“a permanent struggle against an omnipresent 
death.” And as much as I try to shake it, by no 
fault of my own, this omnipresence of death is 
always following me, lingering, as a constant 
reminder of my sheer lack of control over how 
I am perceived in this world. 

But even at my lowest, I remind myself that 

I have the capacity to rise above it all. To do so, 
I often find myself drawing parallels between 
the Black Consciousness Movement’s notion 
of salvation and deliverance (by going from 
non-being to being) with the Biblical notions 
of salvation and deliverance found through 
Jesus Christ. As Biko discusses in his text, “The 
Radical Gospel of Black Consciousness,” Black 
consciousness entails a radical transformation 
of the ontological status of the individual, 
going from an inauthentic to authentic being. 
The inauthenticity of repressing one’s own 
self in fear of retaliation from the unjust status 

quo is stripped away by the 
affirmation of one’s own being. 

In a similar vein, liberation 

theologists such as Latin 
American philosopher Ignacio 
Ellacuría, 
draw 
similar 

comparisons of deliverance 
in the act of seeking salvation 
in Jesus Christ. In his text, 
“The 
Crucified 
Peoples,” 

Ellacuría 
discusses 
how 

an overwhelming majority 
of humankind is crucified 
by means of natural, historical and personal 
oppression. He claims that the crucifixion of 
Jesus Christ on the cross serves as a double 
soteriology (salvation doctrine) by tying together 
the passion and death of Christ with the 
oppressed.

This carries with it heavy implications: 

The notion that the Creator of the Universe 
–– all we’ve ever known, experienced or 
sensed –– came down onto Earth in order to 
side with those who have historically been 
persecuted and to affirm the existence of their 
beings is something that gives me solace as I 
navigate a society hell-bent on killing me. As 
Black theologian James Cone wrote in Black 
Theology and Black Power, “In Christ, God 
enters human affairs and takes sides with the 
oppressed. Their suffering becomes His, their 
despair, divine despair.”

This new life that is given through Christ 

parallels this radical transformation from non-

being to being. They both seek for us to live a 
life that is affirmative and liberative of the 
oppressed, by wrestling with death in order to 
receive life. As Luke 4:18 states, “The Spirit of 
the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed 
me to preach the good news to the poor (...) 
To set at liberty those who are oppressed, To 
proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

I find comfort in this. The knowledge 

that I am not determined by my earthly, 
bodily existence and the demonic nature of 
capitalism and white supremacy omnipresent 
in our world. As Fanon once stated in his 
seminal piece “Black Skin, White Masks,” 
“In the world through which I travel I am 
endlessly creating myself.” With this in mind, I 
continue traveling, paving my own path amid 
the persecution, and whenever I feel hopeless 
over my lack of control in the present, I stop 
and think to myself who really is in control in 
the end –– and that, in all its glory, liberates me. 

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Michigan in Color
6 — Wednesday, March 3, 2021 

puzzle by sudokusnydictation.com

By Ed Sessa
©2021 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
03/03/21

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

03/03/21

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

Release Date: Wednesday, March 3, 2021

ACROSS

1 Aussie birds with 

drumbeat-like 
mating calls

5 Get in a row

10 Regarding
14 Lucy Lawless title 

role

15 “Take a look”
16 Hit the brakes
17 Once-common 

childhood ailment

19 Nomadic quarters
20 Giant whose #4 

was retired

21 Rock’s Pop
22 Figures of 

speech

24 Saffron-flavored 

Spanish dish

26 Embellish
27 Reporting live
30 The eastern half 

of a frozen food 
brand

33 Writers’ 

workplaces

36 Move, in realty 

ads

37 Anjou, e.g.
38 24-Across 

ingredient

39 Garson of “Mrs. 

Miniver”

40 Summit
41 A lot of time, in 

Spain

42 Wild party
43 Speculate
44 Corporate VIP
45 Hereditary 

information for a 
species

47 Having glass 

sections

49 Incan wool 

sources

53 Race with no real 

losers

55 Cruising the 

Arctic, say

57 Fish served in 

poke

58 Butter substitute
59 Five-pointed 

stars ... or, in two 
words, what the 
sets of circles 
represent?

62 Family 

nicknames

63 Tribal leader
64 Maine, to Macron
65 The Dead Sea, 

actually

66 Cordial dealings
67 “I did it!”

DOWN

1 Many a 

bodyguard

2 Maestro Zubin
3 Make one out of 

many

4 __ fly: RBI 

producer

5 What separates 

the men from the 
boys?

6 Like the mind’s “i”
7 Guessing game
8 Former Prizm 

maker

9 Living very close 

by

10 Big name in furs
11 Blended family 

relative

12 Vocal quality
13 Gets involved, 

with “in”

18 Potters’ needs
23 Oscar-winning 

director Howard

25 YouTube clicks
26 Like Van Winkle, 

for 20 years

28 Trip to the 

market, say

29 “Still Me” 

memoirist

31 Water 

containers?

32 Greek war god

33 Storied 

bloodsucker, for 
short

34 Mozart’s 

“__ Kleine 
Nachtmusik”

35 Somewhat 

revealing T-shirt 
option

37 Journalist Zahn
39 Pot pie veggie
43 __ Heights: 

Mideast region

45 Wildebeest

46 Cate with a falsely 

accused cow

48 Sprang up
50 Island near Sicily
51 Winning
52 Slangy sibling
53 Ump’s call
54 Forearm bone
55 The Beatles’ “__ 

Love Her”

56 Editor’s “Let it be”
60 Title tree in six 

horror films

61 Understand

SUDOKU

Sudoku Syndication
http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/

1 of 1
10/8/08 12:37 PM

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© sudokusolver.com. For personal use only.

Generate and solve Sudoku, Super Sudoku and Godoku puzzles at sudokusyndication.com!

WHISPER

“Happy 
March!”

“Did you know 
‘swim’ upside 
down is still 
‘swim’?

By Bryant White
©2021 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
02/24/21

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

02/24/21

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

Release Date: Wednesday, February 24, 2021

ACROSS

1 It may break and 

crash

5 It has an eye 

on TV

8 Slightly open

12 Sea that’s a 

victim of irrigation 
projects

13 Water park 

feature

15 Heavyweight 

fight?

16 Capital founded 

by Pizarro

17 They may draft 

briefs

18 Saloon door’s 

lack

19 Civil War topper
20 Tattoo joint?
21 Folklore monster
22 Move furtively
24 “Breaking Bad” 

org.

25 Verne who 

created Nemo

26 Dodger rival of 

shortstop Rizzuto

28 Bucket of bolts
30 “Evita” narrator
32 Gummy bear 

ingredient

34 YouTube clip, for 

short

37 Prefix with call
39 Meek
40 Tubes on the 

table

41 Sonicare rival
43 Get into a stew?
44 One who digs 

hard rock

45 Wedding 

reception hiree

47 Pressing
49 Catch a bug, say
50 Energy unit
51 Loitering ... or 

how 3-, 5-, 7- and 
9-Down might be 
seen?

58 Magic prop
59 Tech company 

that became a 
verb

60 Source
62 Harper’s Bazaar 

designer

63 Absurd
64 Swear to be true
65 Tap serving
66 California’s Point 

__ National 
Seashore

67 Cook Islands 

export

DOWN

1 Constitutional 

events

2 Disney mermaid
3 Blood-drinking 

mammal

4 “Seinfeld” 

regular

5 High light
6 Delta of 

“Designing 
Women”

7 Spelunking sight
8 Try to date
9 Support for 

Tarzan

10 Love, to Luigi
11 Judicial attire
13 One working on 

bks.

14 Linguistic suffix
23 It may be tapped
25 Fifth of 12, 

alphabetically: 
Abbr.

27 Place for 

shooting stars?

29 Free (of)
30 Shoe that’s full of 

holes

31 Dance that may 

involve a chair

33 Reddit Q&A 

session

35 Cal.-to-Fla. 

highway

36 Gossip
38 Poisonous 

flowering shrub

40 Terraced 

structure 
of ancient 
Mesopotamia

42 Naval lockup
44 Surrealist Joan
46 Magical potion
48 Persian king
51 “__ Trigger”: 

Bugs Bunny 
cartoon

52 Stud fee, 

maybe

53 Hawaiian 

goose

54 Anatomy book 

author Henry

55 Five-star
56 Smoked salmon
57 Cuckoo clock 

feature

58 Baseball glove 

part

61 Vegas snake 

eyes

Who’s in control?

I think I’m in love with online tests

Valentine’s Day passed and no one bought you a 

bouquet of your favorite flowers or the Baby Yoda 
chocolate-covered strawberries or a valentine-
edition Squishmallow or even a card.

If you’re anything like me, scrolling through 

TikTok and seeing couples go on picnics and being 
all lovey, then you also wonder where your version 
of that love is. It’s been 18 years of me, myself and I.

So when I took a love language test at the 

beginning of quarantine in March, I thought to 
myself, “Why the heck are you taking this? You’ve 
literally never been in love before.” My result: 
quality time. But that’s not what mattered to me. 
While taking the test, I found myself answering 
things I never really thought about. Do I like it more 
when I get a hug or a note from someone I love? Do 
I prefer being close to someone I love or getting a 
compliment from them? 

The more I questioned and learned about the 

way I love, the more fascinated I became with these 
online tests that seemed to know me better than I 
knew myself. I then took the infamous Myers-Briggs 
test with my sister. Our results for this test: ESFP for 
me and INFJ for my sister. We spent the next hour 
and a half reading and reflecting on our results, 
recalling memories together that demonstrated 
certain aspects of our personalities according to the 
test. My sister and I are as close as can be, and even 
then, I found myself revealing to her thoughts and 
feelings I never let out. The test told me things that 
I never let myself think about, because who really 

likes to acknowledge that they have weaknesses and 
flaws? It put into words all the thoughts I had but 
could never put into words myself.

It’s hard to imagine that a test from 1962 could 

describe 2020 me with such accuracy. And I know 
people who don’t trust these tests because they think 
that it only tells you about yourself if you’re honest 
with your responses, and some people choose their 
answers based on what they want the outcome to be. 
Despite this, I don’t really mind because these tests 
set me on a road towards learning and loving myself, 
as cheesy or cliché as that may sound. 

From the start of April on, my growing interest in 

learning how to really love myself as a result of taking 
these tests led me to ideas like the Law of Attraction, 
manifestation and the Butterfly Effect — all that 
good universe stuff. I started journaling more about 
my thoughts, my feelings and my flaws, and soon 
enough my mindset was changing. I was no longer 
focusing on why I didn’t have a boyfriend but rather 
on why I was so adamant that I needed someone else 
to make myself happy. 

This change in mindset is why I believe these 

online tests are more than tests. In a Facebook 
Messenger group for my Vietnamese Student 
Association family, my grandbig sends us these tests 
to take. Together, we fill out an excel sheet with our 
results, helping us discover the more personal details 
within each other’s characters. In a boba shop, my 
Japan Student Association family and I take the test 
together to see how we each respond; they create 
ease and a bond. 

HANNAH NGUYEN

MiC Columnist

KARIS CLARK

MiC Columnist

Design by Jessica Chiu

A definitive guide to the zoom breakout room

Courtesy of Sarah Akaaboune - American Gothic, Grant Wood.

SARAH AKKABOUNE

MiC Columnist

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

Design by Jessica Chiu

