By Jonathan Gray
Not everyone left happy, but they all knew that the issues had been discussed after last Tuesday’s NAACP-sponsored diversity workshop.
The workshop is the second in a three part series (which is co-sponsored by the SAB Diversity Board) that is looking to open up dialogue between groups on campus. NAACP president James Sye opened the evening by discussing the most recent racial incident on campus which involved a Jamaican student of African descent.
Sye stated that the night was about discussing the real issues and an open, understanding dialogue, and that the workshop won’t offer all the solutions, but that it was a start.
The event was run by Al Herring, Director of the Counseling Center and the Career Center, who promised students that “tonight is not about me, it’s about you.”
Herring told the crowd of nearly 100 that the point of the evening was dialogue, not talk. He said, “Dialogue is a fair exchange of ideas. Dialogue takes courage… dialogue doesn’t mean anything if there isn’t change attached to it.”
The evening was full of opportunities for the exchange of ideas. This included a time to talk to someone of a different background and also a group activity to brainstorm for ideas that would improve campus.
One student, Jack Dannon, said of the event: “This is a great opportunity for people to get out there and discuss what’s going on on campus. It really opens up the lines of communication.”
