Diversity forum should lead others to change

Staff Editorial

When it comes to trying to determine how diverse Eastern and Charleston are, numerous activities have been attempted. However, with the upcoming “EIU Diversity Round Table,” the Diversity Committee of Student Senate is trying something new—expanding to all aspects of diversity.

Town hall meetings, “Coffee Hours” and other forums have been hosted to try and bring to light the racial discrimination that students, faculty, staff and community members feel in their homes. With the newest addition, the round table, it includes everything from race to gender to age.

This newest foray into the realm of diversity needs to a moment to be recognized. Diversity in and of itself is a broad category that can be tricky to narrow down. It does not just include race. It pertains not only to gender. It does not just encompass just age. Instead, it includes all of those things, plus more.

When speaking about diversity on campus, the “EIU Diversity Round Table” will serve as a measuring stick for other similar forums. The Diversity Committee invited leaders of groups on campus such as Black Student Union, the Women’s Empowerment League and the Latin American Student Organization, along with many others. In addition, the forum will also feature President Bill Perry and Dan Nadler, the vice president for student affairs.

When it comes to forums trying to address social constructs and its issues on our campus, sometimes areas get left out in favor of others. While it is healthy to discuss racial climate in order to better us, diversity covers more than just that. To call ourselves a diverse campus, we need to encompass each issue.

And with the “EIU Diversity Round Table,” Student Senate is propelling the discussion in the right direction. It should be the leaders, as well as the administrators and students and community members who lead the charge in talking about real issues that affect each and every one of us.

Social issues such as discrimination against age or sex are very real in today’s society and prevalent on campus. To ignore these in favor of just one aspect is to not do diversity justice.

Instead, we need to re-focus the discussion on the all-encompassing term of diversity. If not, we fail in our duty as citizens to help each other grow.

“EIU Diversity Round Table,” is at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Greenup Room of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union. And within that room, a trend being set by the Diversity Committee will take hold. No longer will the discussion focus solely on race, but diversity as a whole. And it’s only when we realize what diversity is and what it should be like on campus that we can start to work on a solution.

No campus is perfect in its orientation of how diversity works. But the round table forum is a step in the right direction.