I believe some people have gotten away from what diversityawareness truly means.
It doesn’t mean you have three friends of another race,you read a book about Hinduism in high school and thought it wascool or you have imported beer when you go out.
Diversity is a word often spoken by students on campus, but whenasked how to exercise diversity, many find themselves at a loss forwords.
Thankfully, that is precisely where Student Government’sDiversity Awareness Team steps in.
Crawford Leavoy and Victoria Williams, Student Governmentco-chairs for Minority Affairs created the Diversity Awareness Teamto promote different aspects of cultural and societal life foundnot only on our campus, but also in the world.
I believe social lives are just as important as our academiclives.
While it is true we are in college to obtain a degree in hopesof one day spawning our own businesses or securing a respectablecareer, we also have a responsibility to learn the lessons peoplewe encounter have to teach us.
Imagine a pediatrician who never has spent time with kids or achef who has never tasted food from another culture.
What we discover about those different from us has the potentialto impact our daily lives and our futures. That’s why havingan organization on campus with diversity as its focus iscritical.
“Diversity recognizes people from all different walks oflife,” Leavoy said. “By bringing awareness to thesevarious facets we hope to create a shared voice of equalitythroughout our campus community.”
Williams said what was known in years past as Minority ActionTeam has been restructured and redefined to be inclusive to allstudents on campus.
“People are under the misconception that‘minority’ is a term exclusively reserved forAfrican-Americans,” she said. “However,‘diversity’ recognizes that we all have differenceswhether they are race, religion, sexual orientation, political,socioeconomic background, etc.”
Leavoy said the Diversity Awareness Team also aims to providefocused programming.
“Each month we will be devoted to different topicscentering on diversity awareness, such as internationalaffairs,” he said.
Williams also stresses the importance of taking action.
“What’s the point in having a meeting every weekwithout working toward a bigger goal?” she said. “If wewanted to meet without a purpose, we could do that in theQuad.”
Williams said the team also seeks to examine specific issuesstudents face on campus.
“We may not be able to generate solutions for everyproblem, but at least by bringing the problem to forefront ofdiscussion we can work on creating a comfortable environment forall students,” she said.
The Diversity Awareness Team will have an informational meetingat 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the Union Barataria room.