Workshops to educate in
diversity
By Kurt Esposito
Assistant
Campus Editor
In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Purdue
diversity resource office is sponsoring Affirming Diversity, a series
of workshops aimed to educate the public.
"Each workshop is an opportunity for folks to obtain
some skill as we talk about what diversity means so we'll have a common
language as we talk about diversity," said Dorothy Simpson-Taylor director
of the diversity resource office.
The workshops are being put on by Vision Voice
Visibility: Purdue University's Competency Based Diversity Initiative
as part of their Affirming the Dream VI: A Day of Service. The Affirming
the Dream program was started by the University six years ago. Affirming
Diversity is part of Affirming the Dream's Acts of Kindness.
The workshops are from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on
Jan 26 in Stewart Center, Room 218 ABCD. Registration is free and the
deadline is Jan 16. Registration is open to anyone on campus or in the
community.
Corey Linkel, president of the Purdue LesBiGay
Network, said the Sexual Orientation workshop will deal with strategies
on making Purdue a more inclusive campus and offer sensitivity training.
He said that this workshop is timely because of the change Tuesday to
Purdue's non-discrimination policy, which now includes rules against
discrimination based on sexual orientation.
"The workshop is a good place to start addressing
a lot of the topics related to the change," said Linkel. "Ideally people
will come out of the workshops with a better understanding of the issues
involved about what gay, bisexual, lesbian and transgender students
face, what people they run into that most students do not."
Denise Driscoll, diversity resource specialist
for the diversity resource office, said the Teaching to Diversity workshop
will deal with techniques on creating more inclusive classrooms.
"We are trying to screen people, whether they are
professors or TAs, to increased awareness of the role of diversity in
the classroom. So that they think more about how groups impact upon
each other in the classroom and also teach specific skills, what might
work, what might not work," said Driscoll.
Sana Booker, Manager of Hawkins Graduate House,
said the Talking About Race workshop will build on Purdue's growing
tolerance to different races.
"We're looking at a rainbow, we don't just have
black and white. We want everybody to feel as if they are part of a
community, they are part of a family," said Booker.
Karen Hall, Director of the Women's Resource Center
and coordinator of the Sexism workshops, said the sexism workshop will
be looking at the dynamics that exist on college campuses between men
and women.
The other workshops, which include a workshop titled
Privilege, will discuss the relationship between privilege and discriminatory
behaviors, while the Managing Diversity workshop will deal with strategies
on creating a more inclusive workplace.
"I hope we walk away from this with even more of
an open mind" said Booker.
To register or for more information, contact the
diversity resource office at 494-7307.
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