Courtesy of Megan Helgeson of The Athens News

In a conference Monday night, panelists differed on Athens’ level of diversity and discussed how individuals can take action for its advancement.

“My first impression of Athens was that it was one of the least diverse places,” said panelist Judith Grant. director of Women’s and Gender Studies at OU, after noting that she came to Athens from Los Angeles.

Grant and seven other campus and community members made up the panel of “The Diversity Exchange: Knowledge, Understanding & Action,” hosted by OU’s Office of Diversity, Access and Equity in Baker Center Ballroom.

Athens does have diversity, according to Amritjit Singh, professor of English and African-American studies. He noted that the presence of international students brings a “richness to this campus that goes beyond other campuses.”

In addition, junior Alexandr Maza said a variety of views are held on the OU campus, and even though the campus is a lot more liberal than many places, you can still find opposing conservative views.

Joan Weston, assistant professor of African-American studies, attributed the range of political opinions to the diversity of the community a person grows up in.

“A liberal voice tends to come from urban communities,” Weston said. “Affluent suburbs tend to echo conservative voices.”

The voice that John Schmieding, director of the Athens Area Mediation Service, worries is not discussed often enough in southeast Ohio, however, is the working class.

Inclusion of all these voices was mentioned at the conference as a reason to strive for diversity.

“Diversity is important because we can get diverse solutions of what we are trying to solve,” Weston said.

Grant even proposed that discussions on diversity should include those individuals with “vicious” views on the subject, like racists and fascists, to better understand how people got talking about diversity in the first place. Also, people can change, she said.

The process by which acceptance of diversity is created involves awareness, understanding and then action, OHIO MBA/MSA graduate student Christina Wright ('10) said. Most people get to awareness and eventually come to an understanding, but people forget to take action, she added.

Panelists emphasized that that awareness of diversity goes beyond what is often identified, such as race, religion and gender, and should include areas like disabilities, careers and different family backgrounds. As culture changes every day, so should acceptance broaden.

“You never are a diverse person,” Grant said. “It’s a constant learning experience.”

To further that learning experience, the panelists cited individual ways that a person can grow in acceptance of diversity.

“When you put yourself out of your comfort zone, you grow the most,” said moderator Brian Bridges, vice provost for diversity, access and equity at OU.

Weston listed informal activities, such as International Dance Night at Casa Cantina and karaoke at Broney’s, that “put you in situations to meet people you don’t know already,” as actions to get out of that comfort zone.

Courage to do those activities is what it’s all about, Schmieding said, courage to “make a fool of ourselves.”

Bridges said that there are many diversity-related programs offered at OU as ways to get involved, as well.

“[Diversity] has to be an intentional effort,” he said.

Keeshna Levy (’10), the first-ever graduate assistant in the Ohio University Vice Provost Office for Diversity, Access and Equity, led all event management aspects of the Diversity Exchange Panel Discussion. She directed marketing efforts, coordinated communication with panelists, and organized logistics for the event. She hoped that the nearly 400 event attendees recognize the true value of a diverse environment and that this and future campus events will be utilized as a foundation to spring people into action on behalf of diversity.

As a future senior-level executive of international development and partnerships, she viewed this event management experience as an opportunity to polish the skills she will need to identify a strategy or vision and successfully implement that strategy to achieve the desired objectives. The most gratifying aspect of her graduate assistant position is the opportunity to educate the campus community about Ohio University’s vision for diversity, the services and programming offered through this office, and the positive effects being involved with these programs can have on them personally and professionally.  

In addition, as the Chair of the MSA Diversity Committee, Levy is utilizing her graduate assistant experience to develop programming and initiatives to lead the diversity recruitment efforts for the MSA program, while also sparking intelligent conversation among her classmates about the benefits of a diverse environment and how this knowledge will ultimately make them better managers throughout their careers. For more information about how you can assist with the OHIO SAFM minority recruitment process, please contact The Center for Sports Administration at (740) 593-4666 or e-mail us at sportsad@ohio.edu.