By Kristin Ellertson
The Daily Northwestern
When Weinberg junior Lee Pan walked into the ground floor of Norris University Center, he didn’t see students collaborating or connecting. Instead he observed cliques – groupings of like-minded students separated by invisible divides of race, class or gender – across the entire dining room. He knew something had to change.
Pan decided to join Bridging the Gap, a group that brings students together to discuss issues involving race, prejudice, diversity and stereotypes.
“There are a lot of other self-segregation issues on campus and miscommunication, and (students) would benefit so much more from talking to other people,” said Pan, now the organization’s co-chairman.
The group was originally formed to encourage dialogues among the Greek councils, but this year its members welcome all NU students to participate, said Lyz Keating, director of recruitment for the organization.
“We’re looking to mend some of the racial divides many of us have seen on campus … on a grassroots level through dialogue,” said Keating, a former Daily columnist and Medill senior.
Bridging the Gap will meet every other Sunday beginning Oct. 21. Meetings are broken into two parts: large discussions and small group conversations about diversity concerns, which are led by trained student moderators. Last year the group drew about 40 participants.
“The main focus is building those relationships within your dialogue groups so you can interact with people you normally wouldn’t have interacted with and break down some of those barriers that exist on this campus,” said Abigail Longbottom, co-chairwoman and Weinberg junior.
She said this year’s group hopes to create a more social setting.
“The idea is not only to talk about your experiences, but also form friendships and relationships, and feel comfortable with people,” Longbottom said.
NU is the 12th university to start this type of group, which is part of the Sustained Dialogue Campus Network, she said. The network is a project of The International Institute for Sustained Dialogue.
“It’s beyond this group of people on this campus and makes you feel like you’re a part of something bigger,” she said.
The group encourages complete confidentiality, Longbottom said.
“To know someone is not going to tell all their friends what you said is a safe and secure feeling,” she said.
Jen Leyton, who co-founded the program at NU in spring 2006, said she is pleased with the direction the organization has taken. Leyton, SESP ’07, said she benefited most from the relationships formed through the group.
“I would really urge people to get involved because this doesn’t happen in too many places,” she said.
SESP senior Emily Ross attended the group’s information session Sunday. A Kemper Hall community assistant, Ross said she hopes to create a sense of diversity in her dorm by holding educational programs similar to Bridging the Gap.
Medill sophomore Lauren Alexander, who also attended Sunday’s meeting, said Bridging the Gap is an opportunity to encourage more intermingling on campus.
“Being from an African-American community, I get sucked into that and branching out is a lot better in the fact that you get introduced to a lot of new things you normally wouldn’t,” she said. “College is one of the rare times where you have that opportunity.”
The organization’s Chief Financial Officer Andrew Towarnicky, a first year Chemistry graduate student, who served as a moderator last year, said he joined the program as a way to integrate into the NU community.
“You can meet a lot of different, diverse people and make it your own program, your own ingress to the Northwestern community,” he said. “It’s your Northwestern; take care of the place.”
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