2008 Woodie Awards
Students lead Multicultural Conference; discuss Guilford diversity issues
Amanda Pressley
Issue date: 4/4/08 Section: Features
The workshop "Disabilities in College" discussed the difficulties of being disabled and in a university setting as a student or staff member.
"I think that there are a lot of not-so-obvious issues for those of us that don't have learning disabilities," Zeballos said.
Some of the not-so-obvious issues include the amount of people with disabilities on campus. Guilford currently has almost 400 students with disclosed disabilities. The college also has the highest number of learning disabled students in the nation for a school without a learning disability program.
"We've come a long way, but we've still got a long way to go," said Kim Garner, disabilities services coordinator and leader of the workshop. "(Guilford) tends to do fairly well, but we still struggle."
Other workshops, including "Reclaiming our Voices: Internalized Racial Oppression in Communities of Color," dealt with race and class issues such as the intersection of white privilege and class status.
"('Reclaiming our Voices') is a space to investigate the impact of issues, to support each other, to see how we can survive in a system that is oppressive and how we relate to each other," Zeballos said.
The turnout for the events was less than expected. Approximately 30 Guilford students, faculty and staff attended. However, the number of attendees did not influence the effectiveness of the conference.
"Everyone that needs to be here is here," said Sekinah Hamlin, director of multi-cultural education. "A small group of students, a small group of anyone can change the world."
"I think that there are a lot of not-so-obvious issues for those of us that don't have learning disabilities," Zeballos said.
Some of the not-so-obvious issues include the amount of people with disabilities on campus. Guilford currently has almost 400 students with disclosed disabilities. The college also has the highest number of learning disabled students in the nation for a school without a learning disability program.
"We've come a long way, but we've still got a long way to go," said Kim Garner, disabilities services coordinator and leader of the workshop. "(Guilford) tends to do fairly well, but we still struggle."
Other workshops, including "Reclaiming our Voices: Internalized Racial Oppression in Communities of Color," dealt with race and class issues such as the intersection of white privilege and class status.
"('Reclaiming our Voices') is a space to investigate the impact of issues, to support each other, to see how we can survive in a system that is oppressive and how we relate to each other," Zeballos said.
The turnout for the events was less than expected. Approximately 30 Guilford students, faculty and staff attended. However, the number of attendees did not influence the effectiveness of the conference.
"Everyone that needs to be here is here," said Sekinah Hamlin, director of multi-cultural education. "A small group of students, a small group of anyone can change the world."
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