Food, dialogue fill diversity forum

Food was a uniting factor Thursday night at the Helene G. Simon Hillel Center for the "Diversity in Bloomington?" dinner forum. But the event served a wider purpose. \nRabbi Sue Shifron said the event, sponsored by the Hillel Center, Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center, Asian Culture Center and La Casa Latino Cultural Center, was for students to get to know other kinds of people and have more experiences in diversity. \nSophomore Sibo Lin said he thinks students tend to socialize with groups of people similar to themselves.\nJunior Brittney Broadnax agreed. \n"People are stuck in their comfort zone," she said. \nGraduate student Wendy Ho said she is from a large city and experienced culture shock when coming to Bloomington. She said her definition of diversity shifted, and she saw that diversity means more than many ethnicities. \nAbout 50 students and Bloomington residents prepared their dinners together. Groups of five to eight participants made one or two dishes to share with the rest of the group. Event coordinators selected recipes including guacamole from Mexico; fruit salad with Argentina influences; Jewish Noodle Kugel and Matzo Balls; an Asian-Jewish fusion of chicken; and garbanzo salad from Ecuador. Shifron explained that all food there was kosher, which means fit to be eaten.\nFood is significant in most cultures, said Lillian Casillas, director of La Casa Latino Cultural Center. She said many holidays have special foods served, and people usually enjoy the food as much as the holiday and company. \n"Memories stay with you, not only in the tummy but in the heart," she said.\nDwyane Smith of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center said sometimes people get so wrapped up in their own cultures that they don't explore other cultures. He challenged the audience to learn to socialize with others. \n"It's our responsibility to grow as humans, together," he said.\nKevin Jones of the Korean United Methodist Church has been a Bloomington resident since March. He said if people consider the number of minorities, Bloomington doesn't look so diverse, but he said he prefers to consider diversity representation on an individual basis. \n"We tend to look at diversity in terms of what we can quantify," he said. "But within groups, there is also diversity." \nHe said considering the broad range of characteristics within individuals, Bloomington is as diverse as any other city.\nIU is doing a good job trying to promote diversity, but students need to take it a step further, said Junior Kelli Thompson. \n"IU can't force students to socialize together," she said.\nCasillas said attending diverse events is beneficial for everyone, not just underexposed individuals. \n"Sometimes you have to validate improving diversity, even for the choir," she said.