by Merritt Beckett
Staff Writer
Racial tension in the Stu-Han Residence Hall led to a multicultural forum in the Stu-Han lounge Wednesday evening to discuss issues of respect, stereotypes and misunderstandings among students.
The event was sponsored by Housing and Residential Life and the Minority Resource Center and was facilitated by Harvel Lewis, coordinator of minority student affairs.
The residents of Stu-Han discussed issues of difficulty in dealing with room-mates and neighbors of different ethnic backgrounds and expressed feelings of inability to go to their Resident Assistants that are not of their same race.
Senior Resident Assistant Myescha Ervin said, “Students of different ethnicities are having difficulty communicating and are afraid to confront each other with respect to issues such as noise and visitors in the dorms.”
Lewis and the Minority Resource Center are also sponsoring a multicultural retreat for students of all ethnicities to explore racial and cultural issues in an isolated environment that is free of major distractions.
“Students will be able to discuss, debate and contribute in ways that will help in the discovery and broadening of the students in relation to a multicultural world,” said Lewis. The retreat is scheduled for Oct. 18, from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. at Lewis’ home in Pomona.
The retreat will aim to challenge beliefs, confront values and call for some sort of follow-up action.
Students involved are those who have expressed an interest in the retreat to Lewis. They represent a racially-mixed group from various grade levels.
Minority Student Affairs and the Minority Resource Center provide a variety of on campus services to promote an atmosphere of mutual respect among people of all cultures.
These include organizations such as the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Student Union, the Latino/a Student Forum, the Asian-American Cultural Exchange and the Afrikan American Student Alliance. Membership in these organizations is open to all students and persons employed at the University of La Verne.
The Center and Lewis work toward, “educating and involving students in the value of different ethnic groups, their orientations and cultures, to create the opportunity to effect change, create awareness and diminish stereotypes.”
Merritt Beckett
