Posted January 31, 2006 to Education News | Section Home | Print

Diversity summit "unmasks" diversity

Coalition of faculty, staff, students, covers a variety of issues in conjunction with celebratory events to recognize the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., the Commission on Equal Opportunity and Diversity hosted its ninth Annual Diversity Summit. "Diversity Unmasked - Setting the Stage for Change" was the theme of this year's summit.

In previous years, the summit was held on Martin Luther King Day as a means for the local community to discuss issues of inclusion and diversity in the climate of the campus.

Participants addressed negative issues and focused on resolutions to increase diversity in the Virginia Tech community. Last year, the participants were given the opportunity of reviewing the draft of the current “Principles of Community.”

The event was split into four activities and incorporated an open-table conversation setup to encourage participants to discuss issues concerning and affecting the Virginia Tech community.

“We brought together administrators, faculty members, staff members and students from all over. Student members of the commission of Equal Opportunity have taken the lead to really organize this effort,” said Ray Plaza, the projects specialist for diversity initiatives in the Office of Multicultural Affairs.

Plaza said student members helped organize the four different activities and discussions for today's summit.

“We've picked the series of activities that really look for students to ask what they can do as individuals to make a difference and to be that change,” Plaza said. “A lot of the activities focused on challenging assumptions, and looking at ways to improve through interactive activities.”

The concept of diversity was not limited to simply the realm of race, however.

“The first activity was the 'unmasking,' and that helped people to gain a wider understanding of what diversity is. It's not just a race thing, but we wanted to help them understand that there are a lot of different things that encompass diversity,” said Michael Goode, a senior business information technology major and committee member for the summit.

Other activities included proposing a plan that would improve campus diversity climate and the discussion and familiarization of the Principles of Community. The last event required participants to sculpt their idea of diversity by sharing and displaying it with the other contributors.

“I felt really good about the activities that we planned. I felt that all the activities were to get students out of the box,” Goode said. “I think people attended last year in more of a reactionary stance, whereas, this year we had people attend because they wanted to be proactive and engage in the activities.”

The discussions reinforced the focus of campus climate for Virginia Tech. The activities were planned to create questions and concerns that would increase a better climate for the community.

“Last year we made members of the community aware of that yes, these situations do happen, and in many ways it goes through the heart of campus climate. What are we doing to make faculty, staff, and students feel welcomed at Virginia Tech?” Plaza asked. Goode echoed similar pro-active sentiments.

“In order for diversity, for something the university embraces, every person has to bring it upon themselves to do something or take a stance about issues,” Goode said.