Student perspectives on diversity were the focus of the University Diversity Council's Working Group meeting on April 9 in Alice Cook House. More than 85 people attended the 90-minute session, the majority of them students of various backgrounds and ethnic- and race-based campus groups. The working group, which helps identify and implement diversity strategies, is one of two components of the diversity council; the other is the executive committee.

Working group student representative Douglas Mitarotonda, B.A. '02, M.Eng. '03, and now a Cornell trustee and doctoral student in economics, helped moderate the event. The following is an edited version of a piece he wrote about it for Black Perspectives, a Cornell-student publication.

From the outset of the April 9 meeting, it was apparent that before we could really discuss diversity, we needed to better understand the term. While a formal definition was not ultimately reached, the group agreed that diversity should be broadly defined to ensure that such topics as intellectual and religious diversity are included with the commonly assumed racial diversity.

With a better understanding of diversity, the discussion turned toward one of the most pressing topics: What are we going to do about improving the climate for diversity? The first suggestion proposed by the working group was the creation of a required class. The group had very mixed feelings about this proposal. Those in favor stressed the need of a requirement to ensure that all students engage in a conversation on diversity. Those against the class requirement stressed that just because people have a class they are not guaranteed to learn. Furthermore, it was stated that there already are many classes that deal with aspects of diversity. Students who are interested in the topic can enroll in one of them, helping mitigate a fear of polarizing students due to forced diversity training. Instead of a required course, a slight majority of students at the meeting favored a summer workshop to pair professors with trained facilitators, who would examine the syllabuses for the classes they teach to see if there were ways to include aspects of diversity in their teaching.

Another option discussed was an effort to bring students together in more informal and less academic settings. "Breaking Bread," created at Colgate University, encourages two student groups that would not normally work together to plan, buy, cook, serve, eat and clean up a meal together. By the end of the dinner, the groups would need to decide on a joint program they would co-sponsor. The benefit of this program is that it is open to the broadest interpretation of diversity, and the program that needs to be devised is flexible.

Finally, the participants suggested that the working group encourage the university administration to take greater strides with diversity in the first-year experience, especially during Orientation Week. The working group will discuss ways in which to implement this idea in more detail at its next meeting.

In the end, it is important to remember that the administration is not looking for a single program to solve all of the campus's diversity needs. Rather, incremental changes will need to be made through the testing of various programs. It is imperative that students continue to advise the working group on the success of programs that are initiated. Along those lines, the working group is seriously considering expanding its student participation from two students to three or four. While the working group will continue to have the Student Assembly president and graduate/professional student trustee, one or two additional members may be added. Those interested in joining the working group or contributing any comments on diversity at Cornell can e-mail diversityinput@cornell.edu.