Students hold 40 ‘courageous’ talks

The Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity strives to break boundaries created by race, sexuality and spirituality with its 40 Days of Courageous Conversations. Students, faculty and staff have the opportunity to openly and honestly discuss some of the issues that create divisions within their lives.

The 40-day event will end March 12, and there are high hopes that this period of time will lead to self discovery. The idea for the conversations came from Yves-Rose SaintDic, the director of Institutional Equity.

“One of the main reasons prejudice occurs is because people don’t talk to one another,” SaintDic said. “Getting to know people can break barriers.”

SaintDic also acknowledged that regardless of what our differences may consist of, there is always the common ground of having a meal. With this idea in mind, participants of the 40 Days of Courageous Conversations will be given a voucher that will allow the conversation to occur during lunch at the Maxwell Student Dining Hall.

SaintDic is aware that there may be some difficulty in discussing such controversial issues; however, sample questions can be provided if assistance is needed.

Cara Cox, a previous conversation participant and a GCSU student, felt that the experience opened her mind to a new way of thinking.

“It was a very interesting experience that showed me while we may have different perspectives we can still have things in common,” Cox said.

After discussing issues of race and sexuality, Cox views the experience as beneficial and encourages others to get involved in the event.

Students interested in getting involved in the 40 Days of Courageous Conversations can visit The Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity’s Web site at www.gcsu.edu/equity/index.htm.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Feb 19 2010. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry