COMU honors campus, community members for diversity support

The Commission on Multicultural Understanding will award its 2009-2010 COMU awards Tuesday.

The six awards honor those who actively support, participate or encourage cultural diversity on the IU campus.

The awards will be presented to the winners 5 p.m. in the Indiana Memorial Union Federal Room. The event is open to the public and also includes a reception at 4:30 p.m. Winners include students and faculty as well as a community member.

Senior Brandon Johnson is the undergraduate winner. He was a member of the 2009 Union Board and a volunteer in the Office of Diversity Education. Johnson helped organize diversity programs such as cultural immersion trips to Atlanta and the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Unity Summit. He also was a mentor to other students, including six of the eight elected board officers.

Onika Williams is the COMU graduate-student winner. After traveling with the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program, she developed a strong connection with the Asian-American community and now leads the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association. She is also involved in several diversity groups on campus. Williams presented her paper “The President’s ‘Baby Mama’ — Michelle Obama: A Narrative About The Media’s Response to Michelle Obama During the 2008 Presidential Election,” at the Second Annual Women of Color Conference in April 2009.

Sandy Britton, Leo R. Dowling International Center coordinator, is the staff-member winner. In addition to aiding international students, she is chairwoman for the Bloomington Multicultural Expo, which includes festivals for cultural groups on campus and in the community. For the last two years, she has been on the COMU Committee for Student Policy Issues.

The faculty COMU award will be shared by Arlene Díaz, Valerie Grim and Joan Pong Linton. The three women wrote a proposal to develop a Center for Multicultural Engagement and Research and won a grant from the vice provost for faculty and academic affairs. The grant supported ARC 2010-Attention, Reflection, Connection — Taking Steps Toward an Inclusive Campus, a series of talks, workshops and panels. All three are associate professors.

The community-member winner is Quarryland Men’s Chorus, which provides a
positive performance group for gay and bisexual men and their allies in south central Indiana. The chorus has two major concerts a year and has done several additional performances. Members include a diverse group of men with various ages and races.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Civil Rights Immersion Trip is the COMU program winner. With trips in locations varying from Memphis, Tenn. to Atlanta, each trip has different experiences and goals. The program’s overall goal is to travel to historical sites and inspire students to take action in the community.

— MJ Slaby