By Naomi Hofferber
Students on Wednesday were encouraged to explore diversity through interactive activities and sharing experiences at an event designed to create a socially inclusive campus.
“Unfortunately, a lot of these conversations don’t stop. Just look at our country, look at different communities; different communities that seem very similar often have a lot of conflict, because we know that conflict doesn’t just stem from the way we look or the way we vote, it stems from so many other things, so I think it just prepares us for a lot of those difficult conversations,” said Brian Leal, the University of Iowa Student Government diversity liaison. “I think this helps us exercise how to be a responsible citizen and how to engage those conversations that change the status quo.”
Students first discussed the guidelines for conversation and keeping a brave space, and they reflected on their values, beliefs, and barriers to success at the UI.
Kendra Malone, the UI diversity resources coordinator and the moderator for the event, said that the event was meant to give students the opportunity to better understand their values and to challenge assumptions individuals may hold.
“The reality of the world is that there are people and communities you’ll have to engage with that have very different cultural values or very different perspectives on how to be in the world,” Malone said. “It is our collective responsibility to find ways to work with those communities and with those people in ways that are affirming of their identities so that we can meet collective goals, whatever those may be.”
Nadzreen Ahmad Nadzri, a member of the International Student Advisory Board, said diversity in individuals is created by a variety of factors, not just culture, and acknowledging that diversity is important.
“If we are more aware of our own diversity, and we appreciate and we enrich it, it will be easier for us to understand other people,” Nadzri said. “It would be more integrated, rather than just ‘I’m right, you’re wrong,’ there’s no black and white for that. It’s good to give people the chance to explain themselves for certain reasons.”
Nadzri said diversity on campus brings “beautiful, wonderful colors” to campus that complete the picture, and that on campus, individuals are all together as one as Hawkeyes.
“When you join an organization like the University of Iowa or any kind of institution, your responsibility is to make that institution the best that you can, through your work, through your study, through however you’re engaging with that, and it is also a part of your responsibility to make sure that everybody in your community is getting equal and fair access and treatment,” Malone said. “That’s not the case for a lot of people, and so for folks who have certain kinds of privileges, they need to use that privilege to begin to uplift those that don’t have it.”
