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STUDENTS-LED
DIVERSITY CONFERENCE BRINGS 300 TO CAMPUS
When
Barnard junior Zoe Duskin was growing up in San Francisco,
she had two best friends in school, each from different racial
backgrounds. Her parents knew the family of one friend and
she had visited their home, so Duskin wasn’t surprised
to learn when the family moved away the following year that
this friend would attend a new school. But when she returned
to school in the fall, Duskin was shocked to find out that
her other friend also had not returned. In this case, though,
she had no idea where she had gone. She never saw her again
nor did she learn what had happened to her.
"I realized there was something much bigger going on,
because she was not in my classroom, she was not in my world,
in the same way the white student was. I felt I'd lost her,"
Duskin said.
The childhood incident taught her early in life that her friends
- one black, one white-- moved in different worlds and she
did not know how to bridge the gulf between them.
Mercedes
Montagnes (L), Zoe Duskin (C), Barnard student organizers,
with Sonny Ago (R), Director of the Office of Multicutural
Affairs at the "Beyond The Box" diversity conference
at Barnard College on Saturday, November 15th, 2003. |
Today,
Duskin recalls the experience as the impetus behind her campus
activism in which she hopes to broaden understanding among
people of diverse backgrounds. Duskin and fellow Barnard student
Mercedes Montagnes were the organizers of a recent conference
at Barnard that brought together 300 students from leading
liberal arts colleges.
Montagnes, an urban studies major, has a long-standing love
of the arts, having attended a performing arts high school
in Toronto. Her goal was always to become an actress, but
her focus has changed in recent years to the production and
business sides of theater, with an emphasis on theater as
a vehicle for social change. "I think there is a need
for broader discussion about patterns of inclusion and exclusion
in our political system," she said. Duskin has placed
multicultural issues at the forefront of her life; her decisions
about college, her major (American studies and education),
her planned teaching career and extracurricular commitments
all revolve around this issue.
Working with Barnard’s Office of Multicultural Affairs,
Duskin and Montagnes planned the Beyond the Box conference
that took place at Barnard last Friday to Sunday, Nov. 14-16.
Workshops facilitated by students, faculty and professional
staff were offered on topics that included disabilities, economic
class, internationalism, white privilege, socialization and
religion.
Founded at Swarthmore College six years ago in order to "empower
participants with pragmatic approaches to developing multicultural
living and learning campuses," Beyond the Box student-organized
conferences provide a forum for discussion on issues of diversity
and identity development. Campus leaders exchange strategies
for success as well as address difficult and controversial
issues like interracial dating. The conference drew students
from Amherst, Dartmouth, Wesleyan, Wellesley, among other
selective liberal arts colleges.
"This conference is a powerful idea to me because it’s
about bringing together all different components of Barnard
to have an impact on our community members and at the same
time bring these other schools here to have a conversation
with each other," Duskin said.
While working closely with Dr. Sonny Ago, Director for Multicultural
Affairs, and his assistant Gloria Anderson, Duskin and Montagnes
led a steering committee comprised of over a dozen Barnard
students representing students of all backgrounds.
Barnard
student Linda Zhang attends a workshop at the "Beyond
The Box" diversity confrence at Barnard College on
Saturday, November 15th, 2003. |
"This
conference takes place at an important time for American higher
education and, indeed, for our larger society," Dr. Dorothy
Denburg, Dean of the College, told the gathering at the Friday
evening dinner. "The attention of the nation for the
last year has been focused first on the debate that preceded
the Supreme Court decisions on affirmative action and then
on the decisions themselves. I’m sure that many of you,
like our students, organized efforts at your own schools and
in Washington to demonstrate the widespread support on campuses
for decisions that would affirm the principle that institutions
have a compelling interest in creating diverse campus populations."
On Saturday, student leaders participated in a variety of
hour and a half-long workshops throughout the day. Carol Chang,
first year Barnard student, came "because I wanted to
learn how to take advantage of the diversity here. I think
diversity is something people take for granted but the conference
helps us apply and give ideas for change."
Susan Quinby, Director of Barnard’s Office of Disabilities
Services, facilitated one discussion on "Is Disability
a Part of Diversity?" Quinby invited panelists to discuss
their unique disabilities, challenges and concerns on their
campuses.
One male student identified "the biggest obstacle for
those of us with disabilities—whether visible or invisible—
is the subtle and patronizing discrimination. It’s not
like people target the disabled; they simply either ignore
us or patronize us."
Quinby suggested many campuses need to become more aware of
the needs of their "differently challenged" students.
"The bottom line with almost every disability is advanced
planning and extra time, but unfortunately, many faculty often
don’t take that into account." Many Barnard students
praised the "family-like" atmosphere of the Disabilities
Services, admitting its support has made their college experience
easier.
Students also explored the role of diversity in their future
workplace. In a workshop entitled, "Beyond the B.A.:
How does Difference Shape our Work/Life Roles?" Barnard’s
Career Development professionals Dr. Elayne Garrett and Geri
Perret helped participants consider which battles to fight
in understanding the cultural climates of their chosen careers.
Alexis
Gumbs leads the "Impulsive Activism" workshop
at the "Beyond The Box" diversity confrence
at Barnard College on Saturday, November 15th, 2003. |
In
another workshop called, "I’m Just Me . . . Or Am
I? The Cycle of Socialization," Dr. Lee Anne Bell, Director
of the Education Program, teamed up with Counseling Services,
Suraiya Baluch, to lead participants in role playing exercises
showing the effects of labeling other people. After discussing
the responses to such influences on shaping a person’s
identity, Bell discussed some of her own story of how growing
up white and privileged affected her view of others.
"Many
of us grew up with conflicting messages: we were told to accept
people but not everyone was ‘acceptable’ in our
circles," Bell said. "We’re all unique and
want to be treated as such but we live in a society where
labels are often attached to social groups and given different
value than others. The powerful and painful stories of socialization
often are contradictory but maybe part of the process of coming
to terms with these issues is to uncover these stories."
Students from various campuses say they experience mixed messages
in a variety of ways. In another workshop, "Internationalism
or Nationalism: Multiculturism and the International Perspective,"
members of Barnard’s Multicultural and International
Students Association (MISA) led discussions on the layered
tensions inherent in diversity. One student leader expressed
her concern that groups become too exclusive. "Diverse
student groups are good for students to connect because of
their common roots but the danger is that they can become
a bubble that keeps them from exploring other groups as well."
"A major problem on campuses is we have diversity but
that does not mean we are unified. In fact, there’s often
division within groups, even though there’s a general
commitment to multiculturalism," said another student
in the MISA workshop. Many suggested diversity does not necessarily
connote multiculturalism, and expressed the importance of
providing specific groups for students on campus while working
together. They said that multiculturalism and the rising tide
of internationalism needs to be viewed as everyone’s
issue though many whites do not see it as theirs. They agreed
that issues common to all campuses were: raising awareness,
providing opportunities for expression for all groups, creating
clear goals for groups, mutual support and constant review
of why the groups exist at all.
Dr.
Lee Anne Bell leads the "I'm Just Me...Or Am I? the
Cycle of Socialization" workshop at the "Beyond
The Box" diversity confrence at Barnard College on
Saturday, November 15th, 2003. |
Some
students felt the responsibility for raising awareness had
fallen on their shoulders entirely and wanted to see more
involvement from their college’s administration. Others,
however, suggested the student body should be more involved
in keeping up with the administration’s clear and consistent
commitment to diversity.
For instance, when the question arose about how to foster
an environment where everyone feels welcome on campus, many
suggested their campus had held events such as discussions
on discrimination, dances, cross cultural celebrations, film
forums, and social gatherings. Some, though, quickly identified
the limits with these in that most are only attended by people
of color, not whites. "People don’t mind partying
and celebrating, but when it comes down to the hard issues,
the life and death issues, well, whites usually don’t
attend these functions."
The bubble challenge, said one student, creates a real life
challenge because, "When we leave college, this will
be an issue for us where ever we are. Are we going to create
a global society or just a nationalistic American society?
We have to break down this isolated ‘nationalistic’
mentality because immigration has hit every country. "
Nationalism can be dangerous, and some agreed it is becoming
irrelevant.
Various breakout sessions followed the morning workshops on
topics ranging from Affirmative Action and financial aid to
diversity of activism and the tenure process. Students then
selected from fifteen other workshops throughout the afternoon,
including one entitled, "Religion and Spirituality: False
Perceptions, Real People."
"Many more students would be open about their diverse
spiritual perspectives if they were encouraged to do so by
institutions of higher education," said Reverend Susan
Field of the Baptist Student Union at Columbia University.
From
left to right: Angela Winfield '05, Susan Quinby of the
Office of Disability Services and Alumna Dr. Sui Zee '87
speak at the "Disability and Diversity" workshop
at the "Beyond The Box" diversity confrence
at Barnard College on Saturday, November 15th, 2003. |
Ago
agreed that religion is an important topic in the diversity
discussion. "Probably because of Sept. 11, a lot of students
are trying to find their way. It’s reflective of what
we’re living with, a sign of the times that is having
a direct effect on campuses."
As the conference concluded at a Sunday morning brunch, many
students admitted that the event offered more than they expected.
As one first year Swarthmore College student said, "I
came because of the different topics, wanting to know how
we go beyond the box to changing the structures. I’m
taking the tools I learn here back to my campus. Mostly, I
am really glad to connect with students from other campuses
interested in diversity issues."
Montagnes and Duskin believe the Beyond the Box conference
offers progress toward challenging students to "build
alliances across identity groups."
"The conference is proactive in helping people reclaim
their voices," said Duskin.
Perhaps Gloria Anderson, a staff member of the Office of Multicultural
Affairs, summed it up best, "The conference has the potential
to make a difference because it’s making students aware.
So often we’re blinded by our tunnel vision."
—Jo Kadlecek
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