|
Editorial  |
|
|
|
Guest Column:
President weighs in on campus diversity issue
MHCC President
In recognition of Diversity Week, we celebrate the people who may not look like, think like, act like, eat like, dress like or worship like us. Mt. Hood Community College, our state and indeed our nation would not be as great as they are if it were not for diversity – both our commonalities and our differences.
Differences make for rich and rewarding experiences – for us, our loved ones, those we serve and our community. Diversity can be defined in many ways. As I ponder what the word means to me, thoughts of several special people immediately come to mind:
• There is the 31-year-old white female Seventh-day Adventist who shared tidbits about her religion with me and made me feel comfortable with the common grounds of faith beliefs.
• There is the 38-year-old African-American woman who makes me laugh and
• There is the 51-year old white lesbian with a quick wit who has a knack for making everyone feel comfortable around her — even if you have known her for only five minutes.
• There is an elderly liberal woman who is advocating for the legalization of marijuana, especially for those in chronic pain.
• There is the wheel-chair bound instructor whose smile lights up each room she enters. The fact that she cannot walk does not seem to matter to her and thus it does not seem to matter to others.
• There is a 20-something Latina married to a 50-something Asian man who always get stared at whenever they are in public together. They greet everyone with a smile.
• There is an accomplished 53-year-old white male who just happens to be gay. With a heart of gold, he is always willing to lend a helping hand to those in need.
• There is the middle-age conservative white male whose ideologies may seem rigid to some but who would give you the shirt off his back if you asked.
All of these people have added value to my life, and all of them have taught me a thing or two about life. I must admit that I do not agree with or understand them all of the time. However, I do respect and appreciate them, never forgetting just how boring, meaningless, joyless and uneventful my life would be without them.
People from all walks of life should feel welcome and empowered to thrive in our communities. Off-color jokes, intolerance and my-way-or-the-highway attitudes
should have no place in our society.
I am hopeful that all of the people who walk the halls of MHCC each and every day feel that sense of power and belonging. If they do not, then it will become part of my mission as president of MHCC to help ensure that they do.
At MHCC, we believe that the pursuit of diversity is intensely important – especially in an institution of higher learning. We also believe that an educational experience that fails to expose students to multicultural perspectives and interactions in diverse communities is inadequate and unacceptable.
Whether we are African-American, Asian, Hispanic, white, gay, straight, transgender, conservative, liberal, extroverted or introverted, we matter. And, lest we forget, all of us have the potential to change the world.