Crawford Leavoy of the Minority Affairs Committee in StudentGovernment wants to know if students can agree to disagree.
If they can, the political science sophomore wants them to cometo the next Diversity Awareness Team meeting.
If they cannot, he wants them to come to the next DiversityAwareness Team meeting anyway.
The DAT, formerly known as the Minority Action Team, is a branchof SG’s Minority Affairs Committee, and is seeking to educatestudents about the importance of diversity on campus.
“It’s not about changing people; its about planting the idea intheir head,” Leavoy said.
To plant those ideas, Leavoy said the team will plan monthlyprogramming focused around one particular minority that has a largecontingent on campus.
For instance, October is Gay History Month, Leavoy said.
Leavoy said he and his co-director Victoria Williams haveplanned several events to promote awareness about gay issues.
“Paint the Campus Red” is an event where the team will put upred paraphernalia all over campus and wear red to show support ofgay diversity, Leavoy said
Leavoy said they want to remind students we live in a diverseworld and cannot escape it, so we should not ignore it.
The Union Programming Committee has planned a discussion aboutwhat it is like to be a gay student coming out of the closet, hesaid
In the discussion, students can listen to personal testimonialsand hopefully gain a better understanding of what it means to begay, he said.
It is this kind of educational discourse that Leavoy saidchanges the way people think.
UPC also has planned a social event that fits in with GayHistory Month, Leavoy said.
On Oct. 26, the Pop Culture Committee will host “DivaNation,” afemale impersonation or “drag” show.
“In the beginning of the month they can hear about what it’slike to come out and the emotions that come along with it,” hesaid.
Then students can attend the female impersonation show and learnabout social culture, Leavoy said.
After October, DAT will change its focus and address otherminorities. But Leavoy said they will not stop promoting gayissues.
In November, DAT’s focus will be international students.
“It’s about teaching students,” Leavoy said. “Our job is toteach them about diversity. When students come here they don’t haveto get along with everyone, but they have to respect them.”
Several University students agreed that campus is diverse, butwere unsure about ways to unify students.
Meyondra Kennedy, a secondary education junior, said she thinksthe majority of students are respectful to people of otherethnicities and cultures, but, for the most part, stay with theirown kind.
“People don’t want to mix,” Kennedy said. “They’re so contentbeing with their own people or people similar to them.”
Similarly, Michael Fernandez, an electrical engineering senior,said he notices a lot of ethnic diversity at the University, butdoes not see people unifying, no matter what organizations do tochange it.
“I would like to think [DAT] can make a change, but people areset in their ways. I don’t see it making a huge impact,” Fernandezsaid.
Leavoy said DAT met Wednesday night for the first time. Theirnext meeting is Sept. 30, and the group will elect a president,vice-president and secretary. The meeting is open to thepublic.