By Maddy Hamlin & Bianca Zaharescu
Gargoyle staff reporter & senior editor
Posted Friday, Nov. 17, 2006, The OG, news

WHAT IS “WHITENESS”? What aspect of your heritage and culture are you most proud of? Those were some of the topics discussed today during a lunch forum held by Uni High minority student advocates Liz Reese and Sharajonnie Adams. The general theme was multiculturalism and diversity, both at Uni and in general.

Reese and Adams co-head the school's minority student advocacy group, a new initiative founded by Reese with the support of Director/Principal Kassie Patton. The group has generated debate and discussion among many students about whether a program geared toward three minority groups (African Americans, Hispanics, and Native American Indians) is the best way to approach the issue of diversity at Uni. (For more about the MSA program, see the Gargoyle's three-part story: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.)

Before starting their discussion, the advocates established a few guidelines for the group, emphasizing respect for others and their comments.

“We're going to talk about how we can build a cohesive culture instead of having such bold and defined cultural lines,” Adams stated to commence the activity.

The advocates then passed out a worksheet dealing with cultural heritage, to get their audience thinking about diversity issues. The handouts included questions such as “What aspect of your heritage/culture are you most proud of?” and “What aspect of a different heritage/culture are you uncomfortable with?”

Between 15 to 20 students were present at the forum, which developed into a complex conversation about heritage, race, culture, and ethnicity. Uni guidance counselor Sam Smith also addressed questions and fostered discussion surrounding the idea of “whiteness” as a culture, a topic which students discussed passionately.

When the bell rang for the end of lunch, Adams asked participants whether they would be interested in continuing the discussion in the future and the resounding answer was “yes.” While nothing is definite yet, it seems that Reese and Adams will be hosting more such events in the near future, possibly on a regular basis.