A new initiative developed by VSU’s Department of Student Diversity and Inclusion aims to bridge the gap between the universities black and white populations.

The new program is an effort to bring unity to the two communities, and those in-between.

Dr. Gerald Williams, director of the department, said he spoke with several students who have had issues around campus that they felt regarded their race. To cater to that, Dr. Williams came up with the Student Diversity Roundtable.

“This is a time set aside really to bring those issues up and have a conversation to come up with an active plan,” Dr. Williams said.

Dr. Williams said that the room for the discussion is not yet determined, but it will be open to the public and held during a lunch hour. The next meeting has yet to be scheduled, but it’s planned as a monthly Friday meeting.

A week before the fall semester ended, Dr. Williams held a roundtable meeting with students from various organizations. These organizations included Black Student League, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Latin American Student Association, Genders and Sexuality Alliance, and a few unaffiliated students.

Dr. Williams said that during the meeting he took note of the issues most often raised.

“From the last meeting there were three things that came up that always come up: reservations, unity, and advertisement,” Dr. Williams said.

Dr. Williams said that though he isn’t able to solve all issues himself, he can relay them to someone who can. He also said that while it may seem so, not everything is a race issue. Sometimes it’s someone at the front desk with a “nasty” attitude.

The organization leaders convene

NAACP Membership Coordinator Quiane Turner said that she looks forward to the future of the roundtable.

Turner believes that leaving the roundtable meetings open will allow for more issues to come to light.

“Even though we have individuals on the panel our experiences may not be other people’s experiences,” Turner said. “With having other people come, they bring what they feel, as a minority, is subpar.”

Turner recalled last Friday’s event, CAB’s lock-in, and said that the event showed the lack of unity and lack of effort students put into unifying the campus. She observed that “White VSU” lacked in interaction with “Black VSU” and vice versa.

“There’s been a good bit of minorities coming together to realize we don’t really get the equal treatment on-campus as far as Caucasians are concerned,” Turner said.

President of the Latin American Student Association Andres Contreras said that he thinks the roundtable will help the minorities left out of the limelight.

For Contreras, things are not just black and white. He said that he wants more spotlight on the in-between.

“For us (Hispanics), at this point, we’re trying to make an identity for ourselves; let people know ‘Yes we’re Latinos’,” Contreras said. “We just feel ignored because most people overlook the fact that we are a separate identity and we have our own culture.”

Contreras said he feels that it’s great to embrace the cultures of others, but at a certain point, everyone wants their own culture to be recognized as well. He said that through the roundtable and more of his organization’s events, people will become more comfortable in embracing their cultural identities.

Contreras said that the Latin American Student Association plans to host a “Cultural Carnival” later in the spring semester. The event will be a collaboration with multiple other multicultural organizations that celebrates each organization’s culture.

The students speak

Senior healthcare administration major Nathaniel Danquah said that he believes the roundtable will do some good in giving students a stronger voice.

“I think it’s a good idea to have those meetings,” Danquah said. “It’s an even better idea to have it open to the student body to come and not only share their opinion, but also listen to what they’re talking about.”

Danquah said that though he himself does not know how to bring about campus unity, the sharing of ideas from people, no matter their color, will lead to an answer.

Though the roundtable has attained some approval, not everyone is so sure of it. Junior deaf education major Nora Brown said that she was skeptical of the roundtable’s purpose and the results it would provide.

“I don’t know what to expect from it,” Brown said. “I don’t know what will come from it.”

Brown said that at the first roundtable, she did not understand the seriousness of the issues presented. She said she initially felt some of the issues were trivial, but now that she’s better informed, she understands the severity of the situation. She said that she now hopes the roundtable can bring unity about the campus.

Story and photo by Bryce Ethridge, News Editor.  

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