An international dinner coupled with food for thought occupied the Student Center Ballroom Monday night.
The Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs hosted its "A Taste of Diversity" event, an open forum where students could voice their opinions regarding the state of variation and interaction among demographics at Auburn.
A panel of three professors led the discussions and offered their viewpoints.
"I thought the way the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs student ambassadors set up the evening's agenda did help to get everyone in the room thinking about diversity in more expansive ways," said David Carter, associate history professor and member of the event's panel.
Carter, Jenda, provost for Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, and Susana Morris, an English professor who teaches African-American literature and Women's Studies, comprised the panel.
"I see all sorts of encouraging signs in the work of Dr. (Overtoun) Jenda in the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, in programs like Africana Studies and Women's Studies, in various initiatives within the College of Liberal Arts and elsewhere around campus," Carter said.
Each panel member related his or her experiences with diversity outreach.
Jenda shared stories of leaving schools in Africa to attend the University of Kentucky.
"I had two choices," Jenda said. "I could bury myself in my schoolwork or try to reach out to others. I thought that since I would be there for four years I would try and reach out."
Students were allowed to stand and voice their opinions on such issues as initial reaction to the racial composition of Auburn's enrollment and what could be done to improve relations.
While initial comments focused upon the dynamic between blacks and whites, they soon moved to more specific ethnicity, sexual orientation and identity questions.
"For my part, as much as my own research and historical preoccupation has been with American race relations and the struggle by African Americans for an equal place at the table of American democracy, I also wanted to introduce into the evening some discussion of how our approach to diversity needs to encompass sexual orientation and gender identity and expression," Carter said.
Morris stressed the importance of reaching out in everyday life to those who are different.
"Sometimes it's OK to not be in your comfort zone," Morris said. "Invite a white friend to an event that's usually just for sisters. If you're white make it a point to get dinner with that cool black friend from class. That's where it all starts."
The recurring theme of the event was that diversity can be achieved if one only makes the effort. If one simply tries to see things from another's perspective, the panelists reasoned, commonalities are easy to find.
"I think Auburn has made truly significant strides in its approach to fostering diversity," Carter said. "As I think all three of the panelists tried to suggest, one of the ways in which all of us can think about approaching diversity in more constructive ways is to try to put ourselves in positions where we can appreciate what it feels like to be 'the other.'"
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