Diversity
Post by Francheska Vargas
What do you think? Question of the day…
-What questions do you have for the committee?
Recap:
Today the committee examined the Allegheny College Statement of Community, Allegheny College Mission Statement, Scope of Diversity and Gender Equity Committee, the Unusual Combinations Trademark and the Board of Trustee Task Force Diversity to help us define what we think diversity and social justice should mean at Allegheny College. We also talked about how our charge and work will lead us to collaborate with other sub-committees to create a truly strategic plan.
Comments (2)
I think it is particularly striking that no one has commented on this topic thus far. It is a critical issue facing many colleges and Universities (if not all) and we are not talking about it. Perhaps what we need are diversity dialogues where we tackle the hard questions, engage in the conversations that require trust and vulnerability, and above all end the silence that pervades this topic. I have kept my eye on this post for a few days, waiting for people to post a comment, and I think the lack of discussion around this topic speaks volumes. We must listen to each other and then take appropriate and necessary actions.
Posted by Molly McGravey | June 1, 2009 7:29 PM
Posted on June 1, 2009 19:29
Diversity has always been a keen issue for me. Being the only Muslim on campus who wears hijab (the headscarf and covering most of my body) and having a very small Muslim community here to begin with, I occasionally feel like a misfit. I don't mean to sound emo or angsty! While I try my best to host Pink Hijab Day every year and happily speak with others concerning my religion and culture, I think it is crucial for diversity to be openly discussed in some way. I am not the only minority of course and we do have a nice representation of diversity, though the lack of unity and discussion concerning the issue installs isolation between groups and individuals.
Maybe this is all due to an underlying mentality that "diversity" and "unity" do not come hand-in-hand, that they seem contradictory? I think this is something that should be brought up to the campus somehow. I know that at many larger schools, racial/ethnic/religious cliques form throughout the campus and while diversity is there, there is no sense of unity and intermingling. While we are smaller and don't have nearly as many cliques (if any at all), I feel like we have taken advantage of our size and have forced groups to "intermingle" in this way without any sense of total inclusion. I believe we need to redefine what we, as a community, understand as "diversity" - that it is not just statistics but much more than that.
Posted by Afsaneh Samari | July 22, 2009 9:43 AM
Posted on July 22, 2009 09:43