At Northwestern’s Diversity Conference 2002 on Saturday, award-winning author Randall Kenan urged the NU community not to take diversity for granted.
“Using the word diversity to make us feel good about ourselves is a very dangerous thing,” Kenan said. “I think we should be wary of the idea of diversity being co-opted and marketed.”
Asking the question “Is It NU?”, the conference attracted more than 100 participants who explored diversity at a personal and community level through a variety of workshops, speeches and performances at Norris University Center.
Kenan, who has investigated the stereotyping of minorities, encouraged audience members to get out of their comfort zones and applauded students who said they tried to reach out to different groups on campus.
“People live in their nice, little boxes, get into their little boxes to go to work and come back to their little boxes,” Kenan said. “And this isn’t just a metaphor for how people work — but for how people think.”
Shalonda Scott, the conference’s outreach and publicity chairwoman, said she was pleased with Kenan’s speech.
“His talk was so good and so applicable to NU,” said Scott, a Communication junior. “It was like, ‘How did he know us so well?'”
Conference workshops addressed issues such as race, gender, sexuality, disability, religion and economic status.
“We want you to question your concept of diversity — to examine it, challenge it and perhaps even to create a new one,” said Jason Spitz, a Communication sophomore and co-chairman of the conference committee, during the conference’s opening speech. “Because whether it’s the color of your skin or the color of your bed sheets, there is something diverse about every single one of you here today.”
In a workshop about the impact of economic and racial diversity in community service, panelists discussed approaches to serving people of different backgrounds.
Bruce Nelson, who coordinates the School of Education and Social Policy’s Service Learning program, which combines community service with academics, encouraged students to get out of their comfort zones and to do their homework before they volunteer.
“There’s not much growth if you’re always in your comfort zone because you know what to expect and you’re not really challenged,” Nelson said.
Erika Shaw, a freshman from Harold Washington College in Chicago who attended the conference for class credit, said the workshop encouraged her to reach out to different groups.
“From what I heard them say, I can volunteer anywhere that I want to,” she said. “And I don’t have to limit myself,”
In another workshop panelists and participants discussed the effects that male-dominated working environments have on women.
Eva Robinson, a Communication junior who attended the workshop, said although she already knew about gender inequality in the workplace, it was good for her to hear it “over and over again.”
“Especially since I’m a woman, I should know what I’m in for when I graduate from Northwestern and try to get a job,” she said.
Melissa Abad, a Weinberg sophomore and co-chairwoman of the conference committee, said she mostly received positive feedback from participants.
“A few people walked out frustrated, which is also good,” Abad said. “It gets them thinking, gets them sparked and maybe continues conversation later on.”
