Diverse COMUnity

Last Monday, April 16, the Commission on Multicultural Understanding awarded its annual awards to an undergraduate student, graduate student, faculty member, staff member, Bloomington community member and one campus program. These awards recognize and honor “individuals who actively support, participate in, or encourage the exploration of cultural diversity in and around the IU campus.” Additionally, the commission tries to recognize individual volunteers in their efforts rather than people whose job it is to provide services that emphasize diversity and inclusion.\nHerman B Wells was one of the first staff member recipients of the COMU award in 1986, and COMU has recognized many more outstanding recipients almost every year since then.\nWe applaud the COMU first of all for its outstanding work at Indiana University. For example, COMU has developed a brochure with valuable resources and advice for both undergraduate students and some international graduate AIs in order to help all parties successfully and respectfully overcome the communication barrier that sometimes occurs. This year, COMU hosted nationally renowned scholar and author James Loewen (“Lies My Teacher Told Me and Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism”) who hosted a series of workshops and discussions for the IU and Bloomington community about overcoming a powerful history of racism. COMU members are currently developing plans to respond effectively to groups that come to campus and advocate values that are not congruent with IU’s emphasis on diversity, respect and inclusion.\nCOMU also deserves our recognition for its continued efforts to recognize individuals who are committed strongly to promoting values of diversity in our campus and local communities and more importantly who promote respect and understanding of rich cultural diversity. So often those efforts go unnoticed; they are underappreciated and overlooked as we tend to reward personal success based on grades, scores, and individual achievement. The commission does its part to ensure that the people who give their time, resources and spirit for others are also duly rewarded.\nWe also ask: What would this campus be like if more individuals adopted such a giving, unselfish attitude? How welcoming would this campus be if more organizations and offices rewarded activities and individuals for the values that COMU embodies?\nA fully welcoming and inclusive campus cannot be achieved through the work of COMU and the handful of organizations and administrative offices with similar missions. Everyone on this campus has a role to play in order to “enhance the campus climate through education and increased communication on issues of oppression” and “promote greater communication on campus among all persons, regardless of race, age, religion, ability, gender, sexual orientation, or socio-economic status.” Those goals are part of COMU’s mission; but imagine if we all committed to those values.\nSo let’s all ask ourselves what we can do to make this campus and community the best it can be. It’s about time we all give COMU a little help.