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College to Promote Unity, Celebrate Diversity
Unity will be a prevailing theme at Ithaca
College September 10--12 as students, faculty, and staff gather
to celebrate the variety of cultures on campus.
 Beginning
Thursday, September 10, campus community members may stop by
the Campus Center, Park Hall, or any of the dining halls to sign
a "pledge
of unity" and pick up a unity button --- acts that will
show their commitment to learn more about cultures different
from their own. A Unity Day celebration is scheduled for Friday,
September 11, and the second annual Ithaca College Unity
Relays and Ice Cream Social will be held on Saturday, September
12.
"We think it's important that community
members share a commitment to appreciating diversity, to celebrating
our differences and rejoicing in our commonalities," says
Maura Stephens, a member of the Unity Day committee.
Scheduled for noon at the "free speech
rock" on the academic quad, the Unity Day celebration will
include remarks by Ithaca College president Peggy R. Williams
and Office of Minority Affairs director Keeon Gregory, a talk
by Bias-Related Incidents Committee member Brian McAree on what
community members can do to stamp out such incidents, learning
the word "unity" in the native languages of some of
the College's international students, and more.
On Saturday, September 12, the unity relays
will be held at Butterfield Stadium. Sponsored by the Office
of Minority Affairs, the event promotes solidarity on campus
by bringing together teams of students, faculty, and staff for
a series of 400-meter relay races.
"We say that it does not matter that
the teams are composed of people of different genders, races,
ethnic groups, socioeconomic backgrounds, and athletic abilities,
because when we work together we complete the race --- the human
race," says Gregory. "We owe it to ourselves and each
other to become well acquainted as a community and to contribute
in making our campus an even better place."
Race registration and team formations begin
at 10:00 a.m., and organizers say part of the plan is for participants
to meet someone new during the day's activities. More than 140
people "ran" last year --- a half-mile fun run/walk/wheelchair
race is also offered --- and hopes are for that number to triple
this year.
An ice cream social will follow the event,
during which there will be a short presentation on combating
the various "isms" --- racism, classism, and the like
--- present in today's society. |
