Rosa Parks, the senator and Committee Chair of Multicultural Affairs for the Student Government Association, created an innovative idea last year to start a Diversity Day on campus. This year she decided to continue this event, which took place on April 1, 2009. The event was held all day in Sykes Student Union. The purpose of Diversity Day is to increase diversity awareness on our campus and to embrace the diversity that West Chester University displays. In the morning it began by giving students free breakfast from 8 am to 10 am. To promote diversity and student interaction throughout the day committee members and volunteers handed out free snacks, allowed students to participate in engaging activities, and gave students the opportunity to make a pledge for diversity.
Students were able to sign the banner to pledge to promote diversity and this banner will hang in the student union building for all to see. There were also free buttons given to students that read “Diversify Your Life” and t-shirts to the many students who volunteered to make this day a success. In addition, Diversity Day also included an evening forum with a guest moderator, Professor Stephan Clyburn, discussing various stereotypes that students had written anonymously throughout the day. The theme for this years’ event was Breaking the Barriers: Debunking Stereotypes.
This event could not have been possible without the help of the Student Government Association Multicultural Affairs Committee, The Office of Multicultural Affairs, Aramark, Black Student Union, Wawa, Black Men United, and the Residence Hall Association.
Last year, Diversity Day was a huge success and this year’s goal was to exceed the success of last year. From the overall comments from the students, this goal was met and the event was very successful.
– Rosa Parks