Minorities discuss self-segregation at panel

Freshman Marc Hardy does not want to self-segregate, but doesn’t know what other options he has.

“I self-segregate not because I choose to self-segregate,” Hardy said.

On Tuesday, several University organizations joined forces to create the “Essentials of Leadership: Diversity in Leadership,” a panel that gave IU minority students advice on how to get involved with majority organizations such as IU Student

Association and Counsel for Advancing Student Leadership.

The event pointed out that some minority students only become leaders in their respective student minority organizations. A person of a minority group can enrich a student organization by bringing in a different perspective.

“On Union Board I am one of three African-Americans,” said junior Jasmine Starks, member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. and a Union Board director. “We are giving out a different perspective. It’s preparing me for the workforce in which I will more than
likely be a minority.”

Members of the panel had their own personal experiences about venturing from their comfort zones.

Junior Michael Coleman, vice president internal of the Residence Halls Association, said he had a personal experience in which he went to a Students for Barack Obama meeting and was the only African-American person there.

“I felt so out of place,” Coleman said. “But I got to meet people who supported someone who I wanted to be president.”

Coleman said that once he got passed being “the only black guy,” he had a lot fun working with the organization.

It is not only minority students that have to change their attitudes toward different student organizations, but also the majority groups who have to be more welcoming and all-inclusive.

“Majority organizations target a specific need or interest, but they don’t go on a quest to find a diverse group within that type,” Sarah Nagy, assistant director of Student Involvement, said.

Also, the panel discussed how organizations should do more than just co-sponsor an event by paying money to get their name on a flier. Organizations should collaborate together to make a truly diverse event.

“It’s about trust,” Nagy said. “It’s not about how we want to collect money to get your name on a piece of paper. ... It’s not about checking off one of the required diversity events of the year.  ... We won’t get true collaboration without trusting each other.”

The panel agreed that self-segregation is a common theme on the IU campus.

“We’ve all seen self-segregation. People self-segregate with the same race, ethnicity and do not interact with others,” Eric Love, director of the Office of Diversity Education, said.

One of the messages from the panel was that IU students have the power to cease self-segregation.

“Do it yourself,” Arec Ligon, president of Foster Quad student government said. “Talk to people you’ve never talked to before from them you learn different ideas.”