Student leaders representing a number of minority student groups on campus gathered at the Greenfield Intercultural Center last night to discuss how to better facilitate public discourse on race issues.
The event was part of the University's Commemorative Symposium on Social Change honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
Sean Vereen, associate director of the Greenfield Intercultural Center, moderated the event, although student input dominated the conversation.
"How do we best institutionalize at Penn discussions about race and ethnicity?" Vereen asked at the beginning of the event to help facilitate dialogue.
Many audience members expressed the need for collaboration and inclusiveness among the various minority groups on campus.
"I have noticed a lack of communication across different [cultural] centers," said College senior and Race Dialogue Project member Julija Zubac.
Yet while encouraging unity among the various groups and coalitions on campus, Hugo Najera, program director at La Casa Latina, stressed that students must avoid an "us versus them mentality" between minority and white students.
Some audience members said they have had professors who were sometimes insensitive to racial issues and they felt that more faculty need to be involved in dialogues on race.
However, Wharton senior Celia Castellanos said she is encouraged by Penn President Amy Gutmann's commitment to fostering a diverse environment at Penn.
"I think with the new president, Amy Gutmann, [encouraging diversity discussions] is a lot more feasible than it has been in the past," Castellanos said, noting that she has seen Gutmann speak several times on campus regarding diversity.
At the discussion's end, most in attendance seemed encouraged by the event and hopeful for future progress.
"There was a good vibe in the room, and something will come out afterwards. All the pieces of the puzzle are there. They just have to be put together," Castellanos said.
According to College junior and Alianza Vice President Yael May, the attendance of the event, which reached about 30, was heartening.
"Just the fact that people came is the first step," she said.
Najera was pleased with the diverse perspectives that the discussion elicited.
"It showed that there are different opinions from this community that can often be seen from the outside as homogeneous," said Najera.
"A black racial profiling incident affects a white student, a black student, a woman, an LGBT student. And if you don't know how you're affected, then that's why you should be attending one of these events."
