Starpower Reflection Paper

The University of Toledo Levis Leadership program recently played a game called StarPower. Students initially drew five chips of varying values from a bag and then had the opportunity to trade. After trading, students were broken into three groups based off of their chip values: the lowest point values triangles, middle point values circles, and upper point values squares. Then there was a series of other rounds where students had the chance to improve their placement. The final round began with the squares setting new rules for the game and ended with the circles and triangles working together to face oppression. StarPower is important as it focuses on societal values, personal actions and perspectives, and developing leadership.
Throughout the entire StarPower simulation, I was a member of the triangle group. While I missed out on experiencing the circle or square groups, I got a unique and complete perspective of the triangles. In some ways it was easy to be a triangle, but in others it was not. For me, being the second worst in the class, the game was especially fun because I had nothing to loose. I imagine that this was not the case for the circles and squares or even more higher class triangles. I thought the triangles were easy to get along with because we had to work as team players instead of individuals to enact change. I enjoyed how

I realized that I really enjoy teamwork and dedication. I found that by putting other’s needs first, success can be found in a different sense. As I think back to this activity, I probably would have made the same mistakes as the squares if I had been in their position. It is easy to fall into a negative and defensive territory when blessed with power and privilege. Overall, I enjoyed StarPower. It taught me so much about power, teamwork, and privilege and how each can be used positively or negatively. I hope this experience will have me make better choices in the