Commission to sponsor diversity forum

Only 7 percent of students on campus are considered minority students, according to the Commission on Multicultural Understanding. But COMU would like a better understanding of that diverse population.\nThe commission will sponsor the "Student Leaders' Forum on Diversity" as part of the "Campus Week of Dialogue" tonight at 7:30 p.m., in Room 015 of the Fine Arts Building. The week comes from the U.S. Department of Education's "Many Paths, One Journey, Building One America" and President Bill Clinton's race initiative "One America in the 21st Century." \n"It was kind of a stepping stone from the U.S. Department of Education all the way down to us," said Eloiza Domingo, a graduate student, diversity educator and graduate assistant for the commission. Domingo helped organize the forum, which will include eight student groups.\nThe week includes discussions between community groups and campus groups and dialogues to promote diversity issues. \n"The goal is to engage the universities and communities in a mutually beneficial way," said Marsha Bradford, director of the Safe and Civil City Program.\nThe forum will give a chance for groups on campus to express their ideas about diversity. Domingo said the groups will be urged to discuss diversity of the campus and not issues within their group. She hopes the main topic will include what these groups are doing to promote diversity.\n"We're always interested in students speaking to students," Domingo said.\nRepresentatives from the Asian American Association, OUT, the Black Student Union, the American Indian Student Association, the Disabled Student Association, the Women's Student Association, the greek councils (Interfraternity Council, Panhellenic Association, Multicultural Greek Council, IU Pan-Hellenic Council), Latinos Unidos and IU Student Association will be involved in the forum.\n"When it comes down to race relations, most people associate it to a black and white issue," said forum participant and junior Shaunette Byers, president of the Black Student Union. "I hope that people walk away with a deeper understanding of what diversity is like."\nEach group will present ideas on diversity and present what their group is doing to promote campus diversity.\n"(The week is) moving this University, this community, this town towards racial harmony by bridging racial and ethnic divides," Bradford said.\nDomingo said the forum is important because "the aspect of multiculturalism is unescapable on campus. On a Big Ten campus, it's obvious."\nShe said she hopes each student will take away a new understanding of diversity and expose themselves to new cultures. \n"It's the beginning of our journey," Bradford said. "But, it's a good beginning"