Props to Angela Harris and the Student Affairs Office for considering a name change for the Office of Ethnic Diversity in an attempt to be more "inclusive."
An e-mail sent to the student body prompted them to select their top three new names for the office. The Office of Ethnic Diversity said their "goal was to become more inclusive, embracing the term 'multi-cultural' in every sense of the word."
The diversity page on the Otterbein Web site says, "Otterbein College is proud to be home to a rich diversity of cultures, lifestyles and ideas. The college promotes diversity and respect through its many programs and activities on campus."
However, out of all of the organizations, committees and services represented through diversity, the mission statement of the Office of Ethnic Diversity was the only one I could find that included the word "inclusiveness."
And while Otterbein and many aspects of the college promote tolerance, understanding and diversity, I have found throughout my four years here that many organizations do not do a good job of providing an environment of inclusiveness. In fact, sometimes I think our whole devotion to diversity might in some ways be segregating.
For instance, I can speak as a four-year member and current president of FreeZone, Otterbein's queer and ally organization. I have spoken in classrooms many times, hung countless fliers and constructed many bulletin boards. But still, when I find supportive allies who I think would be good members of the organization, or students in classrooms who are interested in the group, they almost always think it's a club only for gay and lesbian students.
The African-American Student Union (AASU) may have open meetings and amazing campus events, but its name in and of itself seems to establish its exclusiveness for students of color. According to Otterbein's Web site, though, the AASU is for "African-American students and all students with similar interests or backgrounds."
There is also a lack of networking and teamwork between the organizations on campus, despite the rich resources each might have to offer the next.
There seems to be this sense of group pride or ownership that we think might get lost (or in some way jeopardized) if we as organizational members were to collaborate beyond our group to meet common goals.
Organizations should look to the Office of Ethnic Diversity for direction. I'm definitely not suggesting any name changes. But organizations should be possibly working toward setting a new goal to become more "inclusive" to the whole student body.
