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USU students get exposure to diversity they lack on campus By
Russell Dixon
At USU, minorities sometimes can be hard to find. That's why 40 Utah State University students gathered last weekend in Park City to discuss hot topics of diversity during an intense two-day workshop. "It was a real emotional experience," said student Jamie Leishman. The cram-course class was presented in a way that students got a close-up look at the roots of racism and discrimination, and how they can make a difference on campus and in the community. This class quickly filled its enrollment cap. A similar class scheduled for August is proving popular. In years past limits have been placed on how many students were able to enroll in Dr. Guenter-Schlesinger's weeklong class that is offered in August, "Valuing and Managing Diversity." However, this year there is no cap on enrollment and the class is already filling up quickly. "We keep seeing more and more students enroll for this class every year since it started five years ago," said Dr. Sue Guenter-Schlesinger, director for the Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Office (AA/EO) for Utah State University. "On any Utah campus, the minority students are hard to find because there are so few of them," said student Jenn Putnam. Of the 20,000 students at USU in 1999, only 778 (3.7percent) were minority students. Because of the small minority population on campus, it is rare that students will have the opportunity to interact with these American ethnic minorities. Guenter-Schlesinger and William E. Leftwich III combined their experience and knowledge to teach this two-day series on issues such as racism, gender, civil rights, discrimination and prejudice -- all of which are issues that are potentially beneficial for any student or business leader in a diverse community. Park City was the classroom setting for this workshop where the surroundings themselves are known for being a melting pot for different cultures and races from around the world. In a recent newsletter published by the AA/EO Office, George Emert, USU's president, said, "I believe that our minds and hearts are more open with regard to affirmative action and equal opportunity. We have made some gains in faculty and staff hiring, and in student recruitment, but the biggest and most important change is that we are not fighting affirmative action or equal opportunity." Guenter-Schlesinger hoped that this class gave students a way to see that people are more alike than they are different from each other. Being a citizen of Cache Valley herself, Guenter-Schlesinger has seen how easily minorities in Logan are tagged with negative stereotypes that haunt them wherever they go. "If people will take the time to try to understand others, we will create a society that values diversity instead of one that fears it," said Guenter-Schlesinger. With a quickly growing Hispanic population in Cache Valley, Guenter-Schlesinger says that "now is a perfect time for Cache Valley to become aware of who its citizens are and learn to value the diverse culture." Guenter-Schlesinger and Leftwich have dedicated many years educating about diversity around the world. Guenter-Schlesinger spent eight years in Europe working for the military managing issues like sexual harassment prevention and discrimination issues with soldiers and their families. She has been the recipient of many awards and honors including the Army Achievement Medal; the Commander's Award for Civilian Service and many others for her many years of service. Leftwich is the deputy assistant secretary of Defense (Equal Opportunity) in Washington. Leftwich came to USU as a guest lecturer in 1997 to speak on diversity and has since developed a close tie with the university through their equal opportunity office. Despite his full schedule, Leftwich has become a frequent guest lecturer for the universities convocations series. Leftwich was recently nominated for an honorary doctorate degree in humanities from USU and was awarded the title in May. Already, 45 students have enrolled for the workshop Aug. 7-11, and Guenter-Schlesinger says that she expects to see the trend continue in the future. If you are interested in enrollment for either the "Leadership and Diversity" or "Valuing and Managing Diversity" classes, contact the USU continuing education department at: (435) 797-0423.
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