MEREDITH ANDERSON | senior staff writer
For the first time, regular morning campus activity was suspended as full-time faculty and staff delved into four hours of intentional conversation on Wednesday Jan. 21, 2009 to address the issue of diversity at APU.
“The goal was for APU to broaden and deepen the conversation with faculty, staff and the board of trustees,” Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students Terry Franson said.
During the diversity workshop “Build a Bridge Together,” staff met in the Felix Event Center while faculty congregated in UTCC.
Presentations from Jon Wallace, students, faculty, staff, parents and community members focused on looking at diversity with a renewed sense of purpose.
“There were catalytic events—the swastika painted on the car and the senior chapel—that provoked our administration to say, ‘We need to revisit this,’” Dr. Richard Slimbach said.
Small groups led by facilitators encouraged open conversation.
“For Christians we have a different motivation [for diversity training]. We aren’t just trying to be politically correct but also biblically correct—this is a kingdom principle. This is not just because now we have a black president but because it is the right thing to do,” Associate Provost Kim Battle-Walters Denu said.
While specific plans for action were not discussed, feedback sheets from each small group are currently being processed to determine the university’s next steps.
“[Wednesday’s teach-in] gave us a sense of unity. It was a powerful moment for us to come together and say, ‘This is important to us because this is important to God,’” Denu, who participated in planning the event, said.
Recent campus conversation on diversity had been primarily student-focused, while this event brought everyone to the table of discussion.
“I don’t feel like APU as a whole knows how to address issues when we have them. I don’t feel like anything was concluded but it was a great start,” sophomore philosophy and sociology double major Jonathan Garcia said.
According to Garcia, APU is at the forefront of many Christian colleges in dealing with diversity but the conversation will never be over.
“The ice was broken and we can move on to deeper conversation,” Garcia said.
“A Christian college at its worst merely reproduces a religious sub-culture. At its best it pioneers truth in every sector of life,” David Winter, Chancellor of Westmont College in Santa Barbara, during a 1991 visit to APU, said.
According to Dr. Slimbach, given the political economy of Christian higher education, APU is caught somewhere between the two poles.
“We tend to reduce our dialogue to ‘Why can’t we just get along?’ What we need to look at is, ‘Is there something structurally here that is producing this?’” Slimbach said.
While dialogue is an important first step, according to Dr. Richard Slimbach, it can only raise re-awareness.
“Raising awareness is necessary but not sufficient. There is no shortcut to shaping a deeply authentic multicultural community,” Slimbach said.
Slimbach, who worked to develop APU’s official diversity positional statement, feels perspective outside of one’s cultural core is necessary for true understanding.
“We at APU have to look at conflict through a new lense,” Slimbach said. “Conflict is growth pains for higher understanding and unity—not uniformity.”
According to Mary Grams, director of International Student Services, although the issue of diversity is now widely discussed on a national level, it is always timely.
“It is an incredibly important topic, frankly, I think it has always been important and it would have been good to be doing this many years prior,” Grams said.
Assistant Professor Dr. Juan Guerrero believes all students are looking for the same thing—affirmation of their identity.
“[Students who are minorities] feel proud of their background and we should reinforce that. We should channel that positively into the life of the university,” Guerrero said.
Most higher education is aware of the importance of creating a friendly environment for minority students where they can find people to relate to, according to Guerrero.
“Don’t assume—ask. Ask first and then you can start a conversation,” Guerrero said.
From Guerrero’s perspective, this meeting helped the faculty and staff become aware of how one another thinks and understands life. Now they can better know how to address issues of diversity.
A town hall style meeting will be held March 19th to allow students to dialogue further with one another and APU administration.
