America has always been known as the place to find happiness. Happiness can be found in many ways and through various pathways. Since the focus of this article is diversity, I will touch on success and respect. Most people associate happiness with success as success often leads to respect from peers, money, and satisfaction. While the latter two are often much more objective than the first and thus easier to measure, it is the respect from peers that comes into play when discussing the issue of diversity. The more diverse an individual or community, the more knowledgeable they are, respectable they are, and understanding they are. It is this knowledge, respect, and understanding that provides the basis for friendship as well as the ability to come together and make use of everyones strengths and ideas. It is much harder for an individual to be happy if they feel like they aren't being given a certain level of respect or they aren't understood in terms of culture. It is my feeling that the 9/11 tragedy wiped away the basis for friendship and understanding that I mentioned earlier. This led to the fear and distrust of people who were once friends and neighbors. While rebuilding this would obviously take time it is something that must be done in order to rebuild communities and lives.
The Staten Island community took various steps in order to strengthen its ideas and appreciation for diversity. The New York Center for Interpersonal Development (NYCID) and Celebrate Diversity! were vital in bringing back the Staten Island community. The events and plans were very well thought through from the very beginning. They understood that the problem must first be brought to light. If the people didn't realize that there was a problem or chose not to even acknowledge the problem, then nothing could be done in the first place. Once this was accomplished, they turned to simple education about the problem. This involved monthly events that helped individuals learn about each other's culture and its practices. This in my eyes was the beginning of the rebuilding process. They also held the annual event of Celebrate Diversity! The main issue here was gaining support for the event. Funding, advertisement, events, and attendance all needed to be addressed. Backing was obviously received and it was their next move that impressed me. They reached out for students to not only attend the event, but to help organize it. This eventually required working together and exchanging ideas. They learned to work with each other, understand each other, and ultimately respect each other. So as I said, they was a very intelligent move on their part.
The diversity at Westminster College can be felt as soon as someone steps foot on this campus. A closer look; however, reveals that even though we are diverse, we are not one. We have trouble understanding other cultures. And it is this lack of understanding that makes it so difficult to develop even a minor form of friendship. In my opinion, I say we follow the footsteps as done in the previous paragraph. There are organizations on campus; like the International Club, that promote diversity, but attendance is lacking when it comes to the domestic students. What must be done is a collaborative effort between, say, the International Club and Stufo. Its the "behind the scenes" interacting that will be most beneficial. Students of different races and cultures will be forced to work together in the planning, set up, and execution of the event. This will be the start of friendship outside these organizations on a more casual level.
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