Day of CHANGE to celebrate diversity

A Day of CHANGE—Creating a Healthy and New Generation of Equality—will feature a series of educational and social events on Sept. 5 designed to celebrate and appreciate the diversity of the campus community. It will provide opportunities for U-M faculty, staff and students to come together and connect with a central, long-term ethic of the University.

Maura Cullen, an educator who specializes in interactive community building programs, will be the day's keynote speaker in her presentation, "In the spirit of CHANGE: Toto We're Not In Kansas Anymore." Faculty, staff and students are welcome to attend the lecture, which will help participants learn how the human spirit can build coalitions, not blame, among groups who never thought they had anything in common with one another.

Cullen's presentation will be offered three times—twice on Sept. 4, 3-5:30 p.m. in the Pierpont Commons East Room, and 6:30-9 p.m. in the Palmer Commons Forum Room; and 9-10:30 a.m. Sept. 5 in the Pendleton Room of the Michigan Union.

Activities on Sept. 5 include two other programs:

• "Community Plunge: Creating CHANGE Through Action," 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., beginning in the Anderson Room of the Michigan Union—This event will feature ways incoming and returning students can get involved in service and social action during their college experiences. Participants will be able to visit homeless shelters, and help with environmental clean-up and food preparation, among many other activities.

• ExCHANGE—Community Dialogues, 2:30-4:30 p.m. in the Palmer Commons Great Lakes Rooms—This wrap-up event will provide chances for students to engage in conversation with others participants. It will be an opportunity to talk about cultural similarities, differences and what diversity at U-M is all about, says Drew Tinnin, program coordinator in the Office of New Student Programs, one of the day's sponsors.

"We hope that through service and reflection, students will become empowered to make a difference on campus and in the surrounding communities," he says. "We would welcome participation of the faculty and staff, especially in the dialogues."

Jackie Simpson, associate director of the Office of Student Activities and Leadership, says the events will connect three ideas that have been under discussion for a year or more. University Housing and the Provost's Committee for Education for a Diverse Democracy wanted Welcome Week to involve more intellectual challenge for students in which issues of diversity would figure prominently, Simpson says.

On another track, Simpson says, the Michigan Student Association (MSA) wants to involve students in intergroup dialogue during Welcome Week. MSA consulted with the Program on Intergroup Relations to construct Welcome Week discussions, which will top off the day's activities. "This also fits with Associate Dean of Students Stephanie Pinder-Amaker's work with students to bring dialogues into the residence halls as one way of helping students make successful transitions to college," Simpson says.

The three efforts converged in a meeting organized by Sue Eklund, dean of students, to create something new for Welcome Week 2005.

"Everyone sees this as an experiment to conduct something more expansive for 2006, involving faculty and perhaps asking students to read a common book during the summer before enrollment," Simpson says.

John Matlock, associate vice provost and director of the Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives, says the day will be a collaborative way to kick off the semester and reinforce the institution's commitment to all aspects of diversity.

"While U-M is fortunate to make available many diversity programs and institutions, I believe it is essential that students see themselves as change agents who can make a difference not only on campus but in the greater society," Matlock says. "We look for this important conversation to continue throughout the year in many venues, including the classroom. There remains much to be done for all of us."

Sponsors for the Day of CHANGE include the Office of the Provost, Division of Student Affairs, colleges of Engineering and LSA, Dean of Students, Office of New Student Programs, Office of Student Activities and Leadership, Residence Education, Michigan Student Assembly, Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Affairs, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Residence Halls Association, Ginsberg Center for Community Service and Learning, the Program on Intergroup Relations and Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs.

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