Page 25 - Laker Connection Fall 2013
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EVERY DAY DIVERSITY
By Ciji Fox
In a world of swiftly shrinking borders, Clayton State prepares stu- dents for the reality of working and cooperating in a variety of di- verse environments. It’s a form of preparation as vital as any of their classroom work.
ciation, Muslim Student Association, Student African American Brotherhood, Student African American Sisterhood, Caribbean Student Association and the Vietnamese Student Association. The Vietnamese Student Association (VSA) is a non-profit student or- ganization that revolves around culture, diversity, and leadership.
“I have been with VSA since spring 2011, and without a doubt, I adore this organization” says Sonny Tran, president of VSA. “VSA does not comprise of only Vietnamese and Vietnamese-Americans; we promote diversity and cultural mixture, meanwhile, educating the Clayton State University community about Vietnamese tradi- tions.”
Every year VSA hosts a charity dinner.
“The charity dinner is a philanthropy project that raises funds for different non-profit organization such as MEMO, World Cataract Foundation, and Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation,” Tran ex- plains. “This event has been our tradition at the University for the past five years, and every year, we strive to raise more money for our philanthropy project and deliver an exciting show for our faith- ful audience.”
As a student, learning the “material” is simply not enough; you have to couple that with hand-on experience, Tran says. “VSA has provided me with plenty of
hands-on experience, and I have
Brett Reichert
Brett Reichert, the associate director of Clayton State’s International Stu- dent Services Office says, “If we read the old cliché ‘you can’t see the forest for the trees’ as, ‘you can’t see diver- sity because of the students,’ it might mean that some students are reared, acculturated and educated only in ho- mogenous context... socio-econom- ically, racially, ethnically, and also in
terms of family status, religion, age, and disability.”
If that’s the case, adds Reichert, such homogenous students, “will lack the ability to see the forest in life for the trees, that is, they will lack the ability to process or understand the amazing diversity and variety in the world for lack of exposure to it, and for lack of interaction with it.” Such a shortcoming, he notes, will hinder their team-building, cooperation and communicating with “the forest.”
More importantly, homogenous students may react with fear or ir- rational thoughts and perceptions, which can be a real hindrance in the work place and in life.
“Students learn these skills from day one because they experience all kinds of diversity all around them,” explains Reichert.
Lisa Austin, a recent graduate of the Clayton State Healthcare Management program, and a former president of the Caribbean Student Association (CSA), agrees that an ethnically diverse cam- pus encourages students to network and learn about other cultures.
“Ethnicdiversityisverycrucialofthecollegeexperience.Iamof Caribbean descent, and grew up around people of only three dif- ferent backgrounds; American, Barbadian, and Guyanese. Being the president of CSA for three years has exposed me to many other different cultures,” Lisa explains. “I believe that broadening your horizons while in college prepares you post-graduation. I feel that by being exposed to diversity in college you also learn how to han- dle different situations as well.”
Clayton State currently has seven ethnically diverse student organ- izations: Model United Nations Club, International Student Asso-
gained friendships along the way,” he explains.
Joshua Davis, a Business Man- agement major who currently serves as the student body pres- ident, grew up in an ethnically- diverse environment which included Caucasians, African- Americans, Hispanics, and Asian-Americans.
(L to R) Joshua Davis, Loch and President Hynes
“Diversity at Clayton State is one of the first things that made me feel comfortable here,” he says. “So far, I have become more in- volved in service; and, as I continue my collegiate career, I con- tinue to learn more about student affairs. As a result, I now have a greater appreciation and interest in critical issues regarding ethnic diversity.”
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