On Friday, Sept. 23 from 1 to 4 p.m. students, faculty and staff were invited to attend a diversity discussion. The forum enabled those who attended to listen, engage and support one another in an open dialogue environment.
“I have been in conversation about diversity with faculty and staff for two years, and we kept talking and reading about diversity,” said Heidi Arnold, associate professor of communication. “ But last spring, I had an interaction with a group of students about diversity. It was so thoughtful and powerful that I decided the faculty needed to hear it and also learn from it.”
The diversity discussion was sponsored by the Center for Teaching and Learning, according to Arnold.
The fishbowl concept, she said, was to have students sit in a circle in the middle of the room and share based on some prompts given by the student facilitator, Amaha Sellassie. Faculty and staff were seated in a larger circle around that circle to listen for the first 90 minutes.
“Most faculty liked the open dialogue and said that they were forced to listen which was very valuable. Many of them who enjoyed it said it was difficult not to speak! They were happy to join the dialogue in the last 90 minutes of the forum,” Arnold said.
Sellassie, who is the president of Sinclair’s Racial Diversity and Unity Group, facilitated the discussion. He believes that the forum is the seed to engaging and encouraging other diversity discussions on campus.
“There was such a wide range of people there but there was also an overwhelming sense of acceptance and support,” Sellassie said. “I was encouraged to see a real commitment from students, faculty and staff to allow this dialogue to be the seed and not just the end.”
More than 30 faculty, staff and administration came to share in the dialogue with the 18 students, according to Arnold.
“The dialogue among students was significant, emotional and thought-provoking,” Arnold said. “I would encourage all to watch for another dialogue or event surrounding diversity, inclusion and equity.”
Students, faculty and staff, before the forum, expressed what diversity meant to them. The answers all varied. But one key aspect that everyone said was the epitome of diversity is acceptance.
“When I think of diversity, I think of a concept that embraces all of humanity seeking to understand and value each other in order to learn how to interact and peacefully coexist among each other,” Selassie said. “Embracing diversity prepares the atmosphere and creates the space where everyone feels accepted and valued, which in turn will foster a sense of belonging within the individual, as being a part of something greater than themselves.”
But Arnold and Selassie know that their work is not done.
“Diversity is not important to campus life; it IS campus life. Look around – we are all diverse in a host of ways. Diversity does not have to include color or another language, but it encompasses every different way that we see the world,” Arnold said. “[The open dialogue] will change the way you think, the way you teach, the way you work and hopefully the way you behave. I know it did for me.”