The Online Reflector

The Multicultural Consortium held its first meeting Monday, Oct. 24, to discuss a proposal for the creation of a diversity center on campus. The student task force plans to submit a formal proposal for a diversity center for the University of Indianapolis.

At the meeting, consortium leaders junior Josh Ford and senior Anna Elzer facilitated a discussion of the purpose of the task force and reviewed an early draft of the diversity center proposal.

Campus organizations including Indianapolis Student Government, Black Student Association, Interfaith Forum and Residence Hall Association joined the task force for the discussion.

After getting feedback on the draft of the proposal, Ford and Elzer encouraged those present to take the proposal back to their respective campus organizations for further feedback.

Ford and Elzer created the Multicultural Consortium to address what they call an “apparent need” for a diversity center to accommodate the growing multicultural community at UIndy.

The proposed diversity center would be a welcoming, inclusive place focused on the unique needs of minority students but still open to all students.

Ford described the diversity center as a way to establish a more welcoming campus climate and a culturally-aware student body that understands the meaning of diversity.

“There is just an apparent need on our campus. When you walk into the Schwitzer Atrium, you get smacked in the face with diversity. All those flags show what we represent. That’s the visible part of diversity. But there is an invisible part of diversity that is not seen,” Ford said.

According to Ford, the “invisible” part of diversity requires going beyond mere measures of visible diversity, which include displaying flags and bringing in more diverse students. These visible aspects of diversity do not acknowledge the unseen factors that contribute to diversity, such as culture, religion or sexual orientation. Ford explained that although UIndy boasts a 20 percent minority population, the campus is not necessarily diverse.

“Just bringing in people who are diverse doesn’t make a diverse campus,” Ford said.  The campus climate doesn’t necessarily change.”

Ford and Elzer believe that an on-campus diversity center could change the campus climate and make the university a truly diverse community. Before launching the Multicultural Consortium, Ford and Elzer visited Butler University for a chance to look at its diversity center and speak to the staff of the center.

Ford described Butler’s diversity center as inspirational, given the similarity in demographics between Butler and UIndy. Both universities are private institutions with similar student populations.

“If they can do it, we can, too,” Ford said.

After visiting Butler’s diversity center, Ford and Elzer were convinced that they wanted to bring a diversity center to the UIndy campus. The two worked together to begin a proposal and establish a task force, finally creating the Multicultural Consortium.

Both Ford and Elzer said the ultimate goal of the consortium is the diversity center, which they hope to see built using existing space in Schwitzer Student Center.

To achieve this, the consortium will continue to revise its draft of the proposal, work with the university’s Diversity Advisory Committee and finally submit the formal draft for review by the President’s Cabinet. During this process, the Multicultural Consortium also aims to increase student awareness of diversity and guide the student body to a more culturally-competent understanding of diversity.

“Diversity is no longer about being color-blind. It’s about recognizing our differences and valuing them,” Ford said.

Both Elzer and Ford acknowledged the challenges of addressing the student body’s attitudes towards diversity through the Multicultural Consortium’s initiative. Elzer explained that it may be difficult for students to understand the need for a diversity center on campus.

“It’s challenging to know how much you need something before you have it,” Elzer said.

Elzer hopes that the Multicultural Consortium can help students understand the specific need for a diversity center and the need to create an accepting, inclusive climate for diverse students.

“As students, we have the power to come together and say that this is something we need. It’s only going to enrich us,” Elzer said.

The next Multicultural Consortium meeting is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 14 at 9 p.m. in Good Recital Hall. All students are welcome at the meeting.