COLUMN: Find an honest path to unity

From Karen Pasternack's, "Efective Immediately," Fall '97 From Karen Pasternack's, "Efective Immediately," Fall '97Unity Week. That's a good one," said the girl to her friend. "Yah, tell me about it. Who are we kidding. Unity. At the University of 'We Stick to Our Own Kind. But thanks anyway." In the midst of my unspoken critique, I caught a glimpse of myself acting as the judge. Although I'm not agreeing with her attitude, I think my reaction is an example of how Penn's politically correct atmosphere has left us in a hypocritical state of existence. We're supposed to unite, unite, unite. But since most of us are still at a point where we are exploring our cultural identity, and therefore feeling overwhelmed in dealing with the development of other peoples cultural identities, unification has become a foreign concept. This is our week to begin the revision of the concept of pluralism at Penn, making it an attainable goal, not merely a politically correct snapshot. I remember my freshman year as a time when I felt overwhelmed by my own questions about cultural identity. On many levels, I was confused about how to explore the development of my cultural awareness while taking an interest in the diverse cultural backgrounds of students around the Penn campus. I knew that I wanted to enjoy diversity, but found myself wondering how to do so without offending people with my confusion. As a Jewish person at Penn, I was continually questioning my observance of Jewish heritage and culture. Although I found the large Jewish community at Penn a source of comfort, the strict observances of my peers posed as a challenge for me in my own daily routine. I'm not saying this confusion caused me to shun anyone with a different cultural background. But it was during this contemplation period I became aware of a suffocating message of silence that penetrates campus. A silence that encourages people to swallow confusions and be superficially harmonious rather than fight for a more meaningful dialogue that would be difficult and painful, but eventually more rewarding. It wasn't really until I became the minority affairs beat reporter for The Daily Pennsylvanian my sophomore year, that I started to hear similar sentiments from people across the University's culturally diverse spectrum. These Asian, African-American, Latino, and white students expressed the same frustration about wanting to know themselves, but being overwhelmed within their more immediate struggle to define themselves within their cultural community at Penn. These interactions confirmed my belief that the Penn community desires unity, but has fallen prey to the misguided notion that we must give up our cultural backgrounds in order to unite. And once these intimidating sparks set in, many people reject the diversity that they apparently come here to find. We, as a Penn community, need to dispel this mysterious myth, that infers we must somehow abandon our cultural heritage to be accessible to the group. This only creates gaps where links could form. I have come to realize through my study-abroad, class and reporting experiences that I actually learn the most about myself when I interact with people from other cultural backgrounds in an honest and open way. Although sometimes painful and awkward, these moments in my years at Penn have been the most profound because they have illuminated a shadowy area in my mind by allowing me to be an openly developing person, rather than a depthless clean slate. There is no easy solution to this problem. Learning to listen isn't a sufficient means of change in itself, but it is a path to change. Taking the time to be honestly inquisitive about other peoples cultural backgrounds, has helped me begin to ponder my Jewish cultural identity within the Jewish community, while encouraging me to experience a connection with a diversity of people through active wondering. This week at Penn, celebrate unification, not through shallow speech. But through the power of honesty, filling our community with understanding and connection and leaving those false brochure images behind.