Diversity 101

Last fall, the faculty at Elizabethtown College received a list of “101 Ways to Experience Diversity” in their mailboxes. Suggestions on the list include holding hands with someone of the same sex in public and telling someone you are a homosexual. The faculty rejected the list, which appears below.

According to the copy of the handout given to the Elizabethtown College faculty,the list originated at Minnesota State University, although it does not appear on the school’s website. Dr. Whitney Harris, Executive Director of Diversity and Multiculturalism for Minnesota State colleges and universities, says that he has yet to find any evidence of the list in the state colleges and university system.

101 Ways to Experience Diversity

• Take risks

• Visit a place that scares you for some reason

• Hold hands with someone of your same gender in public

• Understand the importance of language – words hurt

• Eat Vegetarian for a week

• Demand a diverse faculty

• Work in the fields with migrant workers

• Confront inappropriate jokes

• Be a part of the solution

• Volunteer to read for the blind

• Read poetry by authors from diverse backgrounds

• Dream

• Visit a Native American reservation

• Learn to meditate

• Join a discussion group on the Internet

• Go to an Alcoholics Anonymous Meeting

• Go to a meeting of a club or organization with members whose race or ethnicity is different from your own

• Go to a religious service from a tradition other than your own

• Go to a “Gay Bar” or similar establishment

• Volunteer at a homeless shelter

• Go to a group meeting for Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transgendered and their allies

• Move to an area that is poor

• See a gospel choir

• Explore the issue of violence related to all aspects of diversity

• Research the economics related to people of diverse backgrounds

• Enroll in a historically black college or university

• Take a race and ethnicity course

• Take a Women Studies course

• Study abroad

• Shop in a predominately Spanish speaking area

• Learn another language

• Adopt a grandparent

• Travel to another country

• Volunteer at a Children’s Center

• Watch a Spike Lee movie

• Volunteer at a Women’s Shelter

• Let down your defenses

• Tell someone about your own cultural heritage

• Ask someone about their cultural heritage

• Demand a multicultural curriculum

• Write a letter to the editor on a volatile topic

• Use reverse pronouns

• Walk around campus without using any stairs for a day

• Use non gender specific language when referring to dating

• Adopt an elderly person

• Take a martial arts class

• Vote

• Learn sign language

• Volunteer at an AIDS hospice

• Tell someone you are homosexual

• Read a book about another culture

• Go to a dance club in a wheelchair

• Hang out in the International Student Center

• Talk to a homeless person

• Go to a meeting of an International Club

• Listen to music other than your typical favorites

• Attend a rodeo

• Take a stand on an issue and then study the opposing view

• Get dressed without using your eyesight

• Listen to another group’s struggles and experiences

• Be open minded

• Read from the alternative press

• Visit the United States Holocaust Museum

• Celebrate the Asian New Year

• Visit the LGBT Center

• Fast on the Jewish Holidays

• Join the military

• Wear t-shirts or buttons that express your views

• Write to your elected representatives

• Join the Peace Corps

• Go to a Take Back The Night March

• See a step show

• See a drag show

• Learn to Merengue or Tango

• Ask someone who is different how to be their Ally

• Study the political struggles of Native people

• Visit Alaska or Hawaii

• Read magazines like Ebony, The Advocate or Ms

• Visit Harlem

• Have children

• Study the objectification of women in the media

• Join a good co-op or commune

• Confront oppression

• Wear different clothes and see who stares at you

• Learn about the “model minority” myth

• Visit the Women’s Center

• List five ways the dominant group benefits from oppression

• List five ways the dominant group is hurt by oppression

• Get a job

• Plan a National Coming Out Day rally

• Celebrate MLK Day

• Challenge ethnic stereotypes in film and on TV

• Get in touch with your feelings

• Know your family’s history

• Eat at an ethnic restaurant

• Join a Diversity Theatre Troupe

• See a film featuring Gay or Lesbian relationships

• Listen to NPR

• Make a new friend

• Ask tough questions

• Believe that you can make a difference

Matthew Murphy is an intern at Accuracy in Academia.