Diversity Day to ‘sync’ campus

As the clock turns to 11 a.m. Wednesday, lectures, discussions and meetings will all be in sync, discussing diversity throughout the campus.

Carolyn Calloway-Thomas, chairwoman of the IU-Bloomington diversity committee, said a unified moment of diversity is the goal for the first Diversity Day.

The day will begin with a kick-off celebration at 7 p.m. Tuesday   in the Kelley School of Business room 109. On Wednesday, simultaneous diversity related events will begin at 11 a.m. followed by a keynote address from former poet laureate Rita Dove at 7 p.m. at the Whittenberger Auditiorium in the Indiana Memorial Union.

Samrat Upadhyay, a member of the diversity committee, said the day’s theme, “Diversity is Bigger than You Think,” is a way to expand the notion of diversity.

Indonesian dancer Erin Wilson and Colombian guitarist Efrain Andre Escobar will perform at the kick-off celebration. Calloway-Thomas said both performances are expressions of culture.

Upadhyay said Wilson caught his attention when she performed at past events on campus. He added that her dancing is an example of cross-cultural diversity because she is not native to Asia, but performs Indonesian dance.

The kick-off will also include speakers Edwin Marshall, the vice president for diversity, equity and multicultural affairs, and Provost and Executive Vice President Karen Hanson.

Eric Love, director of diversity education, said no matter what students’ majors are, diversity will affect them in their careers. He said the day is a starting point to celebrate diversity and start talking about its issues and challenges.

All departments were invited by the diversity committee to conduct a discussion about diversity or include diversity in the classroom at 11 a.m. Wednesday. Calloway-Thomas added classes that don’t meet at that time were invited to discuss diversity during the week.

To end the discussions, Dove will speak about diversity and read from her new book “Sonata Mulattica,” followed by performances from lyric soprano Virgina LeBlanc and tenor Jasuhiko Harada and a book signing by Dove.

Calloway-Thomas said Dove would be a draw for high school students, students from other local colleges and members of the community to come and participate in the day. She said she hopes Dove’s address shows the importance of the spoken word.

She said the day is about more than one group or race and is excited for the inclusion of all opinions and ideas.

The celebration is the diversity committee’s first event, but Upadhyay said it is just a start. He said he thinks the day will be a success and will grow even bigger next year.

Love said the day is a way to talk about and to promote diversity across different departments and organizations because everyone is connected in some way. He added the economic crisis is just one example of how people impact each other.

He urges students to go beyond and not just participate in the day’s events to say they did something, but to continue the discussion in their daily lives.

“We are reflections of what we do,” Calloway-Thomas said, “If we value diversity we show it, not just speak it.”