Conference to focus on bettering race relations

With the wide range of religions, ethnicities, economic stations and races present at IU, arriving on campus can cause "culture shock" for many students. Beginning today, that culture shock is diminishing, as part of IU's continuing commitment to bringing these groups together, and creating a diverse but harmonious environment for all.\n"Village Conversations: Building Kinship in our Neighborhood" is a conference on diversity that will be held in the Indiana Memorial Union today through Wednesday. The event is coordinated by IU Auxiliary Services.\nThe program was first held last year to create a more respectful and understanding campus and work environment with regards to different groups represented at the University. Associate Director of Administration and Conference Coordinator Pat Efiom said the first conference was small, but had great importance.\n"We were limited to only inviting our departments last year," Efiom said, "But we had a wonderful response and now the conference is open to other schools."\nIn addition to IU students, faculty and staff, conference attendees will travel from Purdue University, Ball State University, Vincennes University, IU-Purdue University Indianapolis and Ivy Tech State College.\nParts of the conference will limit attendance to those who have already registered. Events will include workshops such as one held by Frances E. Kendall on how to make the workplace more diverse, according to an IU press release. \nSpeakers will have presentations about a variety of topics relating to races and cultures on campus. Rabbi Sue Shifron, director of the Helene G. Simon Hillel Center, will present the lecture "On Being Jewish." Her speech will focus on what it means to be involved in the Jewish community and how it applies to Jewish students on campus, Shifron said.\n"The topics we present are really important conversations to have," she said. "The University has done a wonderful job of promoting diversity and I wanted to help with that."\nThe event hosted by One for Diversity, a group dedicated to bringing more diverse art to campus, will be open to the public at Alumni Hall in the IMU at 8 p.m. Tuesday. This part of the conference will feature performances by the African American Choral Ensemble, Voices of Hope, IU Essence and the IU Tae Kwan Do Club. \nThe culmination of the evening will be the unveiling of artwork and photo exhibits that will be displayed on the first floor of Ballantine Hall. \n-- Contact staff writer Jorie Slodki at jslodki@indiana.edu.