PACE to hold open house tonight

Giving students the opportunity to informally ask questions about the program, facilitators from the Programs for Awareness in Cultural Education will hold an open house from 7 to 9 p.m. tonight at the Greenfield Intercultural Center. Last spring 20 graduate and undergraduate students went through a semester-long training program, becoming the first PACE peer educators. PACE coordinator and Graduate School of Education student Navneet Khera supervised the training and helped establish the program with many University staff members. These include Wharton School Director of Academic Affairs Joseph Sun, who directed the GIC last year, Associate Provost for University Life Larry Moneta and GSE Dean Nancy Hornberger. Every week students read and discussed articles that addressed several issues ranging from the developmental psychology of an African American to the obstacles many Latino women face. Participants also kept weekly journals. Students who have completed the training now facilitate workshops for campus groups concerning issues such as gender and race relations and general aspects of difference. Through sponsoring workshops, Khera said he hopes that facilitators will provide a safe forum for faculty, staff and students to openly discuss sensitive issues affecting a multicultural society. "The finding of commonality ensures that people will not only talk about issues in the abstract," Khera said. "People won't think of an issue as someone else's problem, but as their own problem as well." PACE peer educators have already lead several workshops including a program for the Greek Social Action Committee about stereotypes. "We've gotten an excellent response," Khera said. "I've received comments ranging from 'We've long needed this sort of work' to 'How soon can we have you back to have a follow up.' " Facilitators and staff say they hope groups who use PACE will help publicize the program. Last month the program was made an official GSE class, which many say should help make more students aware of the program. "I tend to be cautious about diversity training programs because they often try to do something in a very quick way," Hornberger said. "What impressed me is that Navneet is avoiding that pitfall. He's providing a substantial and intensive program which enables students to get to the fundamentals of cultural understanding and gives them the opportunity to communicate it to others." While workshops are designed to help members of campus groups learn more about their peers and their experiences, facilitators say they feel more open minded too. "A lot of us are leaders within our own organizations," College senior Jen Wana said. "When you feel so strongly about what you're doing it's easy to think you're right about minority concerns in general. "Then you meet other people that care about those issues just as much as you do but have different opinions about how to address them," she added. "It's great to have a forum where you can discuss that."