On any given Saturday you can find them working in one of the lounges in the Upper Quad, hunched over their papers working and drawing while chatting with one another, all striving toward the same objective: to capture what diversity means to them.
The students described above are working as part of the diversity project on campus to create a mural depicting what diversity means to their generation. Every Saturday they meet in one of the lounges in the Upper Quad to work on their individual canvases and to receive guidance from group leaders and fellow artists. They are working on their separate pieces and will have them shown at an art show unveiling in the Devine Hall Lounge on Dec. 8 from 5 to 7 p.m. The one deemed best will be chosen and painted in a niche in Devine Hall, and two other locations at the Memorial Union Building and the Dimond Library.
However, it is more than a contest for many of the participants. Many look at it as a way to explore what diversity means to them and how it interacts with their lives. "My original intention was to educate myself," said Sarin Ay. "I came in to be a student in order to learn about diversity. I thought this would give me a different view." Others, like Aisling Maes, saw it as a chance to express him or herself and share one's beliefs. "We don't always speak what's in our hearts or stand up for what we believe in. This was a good opportunity to do something that would change the campus."
The diversity mural is hoped to be a great jump-off point for many discussions on diversity and its meaning around campus. That is one of the many reasons Resident Housing Directors Corey Brown, Shannon Morthouse, and Sara Linz got involved. "We're challenging ideas on diversity and what that means on campus," said Brown. "Diversity is a form of personal distinctiveness. It's a set of one's unique characteristics, beliefs and values that include ethnicity, culture, socio-economics, language, opinions, religious and spiritual beliefs, as well as gender and sexual identity." But it doesn't stop there.
Richard Haynes, an artist working with the students and associate director of Admissions for Diversity, helped to explain. "The most important thing is to be concerned about each other." For Haynes, it goes beyond understanding and acceptance -- it involves respect. "Treat others the way you would want someone to treat you," stressed Haynes. "We inherit this world together." Haynes also went on to stress the need to experience as much as possible in college and to think in a deeper way. "Everyone needs to turn over every stone and learn everything they can from the world around them; not everything is in textbooks."
The overall feeling between many of the artists and staff members is that there isn't one right way to look at the world and that everything is not as simple as it may seem. There are a lot of differences in the world and this project has allowed many to express their beliefs on how their generation is treating diversity. The mentality is that there is a lot to learn from one another in this world and that we have to be open to new ideas and different views.
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