PACE works to improve cultural sensitivity

Programs for Awareness in Cultural Education is a three-year-old peer educator program designed to increase cultural sensitivity at the University. College senior Mike Schragger heard about PACE from a graduate fellow in his high rise dormitory. Karlene Burrell, second-year student in the Graduate School of Education, heard about PACE from her Intercultural Communications professor. Both are now peer educators in the PACE program. They, along with more than 20 other peer educators, design and facilitate workshops for various campus organizations and departments on cultural pluralism and awareness issues. "PACE is an inclusive program. So many students hang out with only the people with which we have a certain comfort level," said PACE coordinator Navneet Khera, an Education professor and a post-doctoral fellow. "This creates stereotypes and misconceptions about the other -- whoever the other may be. "PACE does forums for difficult but necessary dialogue, because there is so much we don't learn in the classroom," Khera said. Burrell said PACE helps her in her own life. "PACE facilitators learn how to be more diplomatic and patient when dealing with controversial issues," Burrell said. "[It] has given me the tools to step back and discuss different views." Schragger said he agreed. "I have developed a greater ability to empathize and a greater appreciation for other perspectives and cultures," he said. The PACE program, which is funded by the office of the Vice Provost for University Life, the Minority Permanence Committee, the Greenfield Intercultural Center and the Graduate School of Education, receives approximately 60 applications for 20 slots each year, according to Khera. "Our peer educators go through approximately 100 hours of training," he added. Larry Burnley, director of the GIC where the PACE program is housed, said the people are the most important part in making PACE happen. "We take selection very seriously. The heart and soul of PACE are the facilitators," he explained. "Our people are sincerely committed to inclusivity and creating an atmosphere where people feel safe to express themselves. "An increasing part of the GIC is to provide a safe place where students can get together and experience discovery," Burnley added. "PACE is a flagship program in making that happen." College senior Madeleine Lopez feels the PACE program plays a big part in education in the 21st century. "The University wants service learning and internship to be a big part of undergraduate life in 21st century," Lopez said. "They basically want to revamp the system to do what PACE is already doing." PACE creates workshops as a part of an education course that deals with intercultural themes involving "dimensions of difference." PACE also conducts dialogue forums -- conventional workshops geared toward struggling with a specific issue -- and intercultural workshops that focus on team building, Khera said. "We want dialogues that begin in PACE forums to become dialogues in a larger context," said Jennifer Michaels, a former PACE educator who has matriculated and received her Ph.D. from the University and now teaches here. Though PACE has already bridged many gaps in the community, Khera feels that PACE's work has only just begun. "This is the tip of the glacier," he said. "The fact that PACE is a full credit course in the Graduate School of Education shows we are making steps toward becoming a part of campus. "We've been fortunate in attracting an incredible crowd of people," he added. "These folks have taught me more than my Ph.D. has." Recruiting for PACE facilitators begins in November.