Has it been a whole year? Students got an e-mail today about VanDiversity Week 2009, which is Feb. 2-7 (next week) and features fun programming for all. I covered last year’s VanDiversity Week (which was actually in November 2007) in the Torch, so expect some more exciting coverage soon.
Looking for ways to “broaden your awareness” or give you “new perspective”? Here’s the list of activities next week:
VanDiversity Week 2009
Schedule of Events are as follows:
Monday, February 2
*Faces of Vanderbilt – “Get To Know Your Neighbor” (11a-2pm @ Sarratt Promenade)
*Second Harvest Food Drive Begins (boxes for canned donations in participating Dining Facilities and Dean of Student Offices)Tuesday, February 3
*African/African American Workshop (TBA)
*Lambda Meeting – The Uniqueness of LGBTQI Diversity (7-9pm @ KC Potter House)
*International Lens: The Land of Milk and Honey (7pm @ Sarratt Cinema)Wednesday, February 4
*Community Vanderbilt Lecture (6pm @ Carmichael Towers East)
*World on Wednesday (12:10pm @ SLC meeting Rooms)Thursday, February 5
*Black History Month Soiree (4-6pm @ SLC Ballroom C)
*Harambee: A Celebration of African Cultures (7pm @ SLC)Friday, February 6
*Love Your Body (11a-2pm @ Sarratt Promenade)Saturday, February 7
*Rhythm and Roots: Through the Walls (7pm @ Langford Auditorium; tickets = $6)
I believe the “Get to Know Your Neighbor” event was inspired by those pseudo-celebrities in Demi Moore’s “I Pledge” video.
But seriously, is it just me, or does this agenda seem a little lacking on the diversity? Tuesday features and African/African-American Workshop (what?), Thursday has a Black History Month soiree and an African culture presentation, and Saturday has Rhythm and Roots performing. Sprinkle in an event for the LGBTQIMSNBC community and the mysteriously titled “Love Your Body” event, and there’s your diversity.
I’m just saying, if we are going to have a week celebrating diversity, can we at least get a bit more diverse? Where’s Masala-SACE? The Asian American Student Association? Why must we wait until March to have a luau sponsored by the Hawai’i Club?
Better yet, how about an intellectual diversity week? We could all come together and agree that diversity of ideas is much more important than giving lip service to diversity of skin color or ethnicity. Then we could hold debates for the rest of the week on a variety of issues, allowing folks with different ideas discuss them. Professors, students, and community members would be encouraged to participate, and Vanderbilt would benefit from opening people up to new ways of thinking (or at least letting those new ways be heard).
Instead, it looks like we’ll be watching traditional African dance numbers and praising ourselves of how tolerant and diverse we are. Traditional African dancing is cool, but what are we really celebrating here?
