Annual Campus Conference Explores Nuances of Diversity

In the Murray Room of the Yawkey Center Saturday afternoon, the phrase "healthy pride in oneself" echoed over the loudspeaker. The 11th Annual Diversity Challenge: Intersections of Race or Ethnic Culture with Gender or Sexual Orientation, took place last Friday and Saturday, hosting professionals from all over the world.

"We have over 350 attendees that have traveled from states in every corner of the USA, as well as Japan," said Kathy Flahtrey, an administrative assistant, as she surveyed the guest list.

The conference, composed of over 115 presentations, was sponsored by the Institute for the Study and Promotion of Race and Culture, founded by Dr. Janet Helms of the Counseling Psychology Program at Boston College.

With an objective of identifying and reasserting awareness for human diversity, the topics covered at the event ranged from "Working with Youths of Color" to "Diversity in the Workplace."

"I definitely gained a lot from listening to Dr. Paul Poteat discuss biased-based bullying. He gave his audience a new perspective on how bullying affects youth identities," said Ethan Mereish, a doctoral student, when asked if there was a presentation that he thought was a blatant standout.

Poteat, an assistant professor in the Department of Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology, specializes in discrimination within peer interactions and the impact it has on psychosocial development and homophobic attitudes.

"The Diversity Challenge, as embodied through Poteat's demonstration, hopes to bring people from various professional levels to engage in dialogue on intersecting diversity issues," Mereish said.

The talks at the event were given mostly by those in the field of psychology, each aiming to share his or her research in hopes of changing societal norms. For instance, Maryam M. Jernigan, described the relation between racial identity and character growth.

"The more sophisticated your racial identity is, the higher your self-esteem and tolerance to racism will be, and the lower your anxiety and depression will be," she said.

Following the talks, the audience filled out an evaluation form that gave feedback on the effectiveness of the presentation. The questions on the form revolved around the relevancy, clarity, and usefulness of the information. Participants were also given the opportunity to share their own life experiences, allowing both the audience and the presenters to benefit.

"All of the presenters were fantastic. This year the conference assessed intersectionality—a new and growing area of interest," said Maureen Kenny, interim dean of LSOE.

Kenny said she was especially intrigued by the central theme of one's psychological wellbeing. Having served on the faculty as well as the administration of LSOE, Kenny said she believes that the social experiences of the younger generation are paramount to identity development.

"My favorite presentation was the one I just heard on ‘Youth of Color,'" she said. "The information provided has been cutting-edge, and has reinforced old ideas while introducing new ones."

"From the discussions I have participated in, it seems that the aim is to provide people with an awareness of recent research and ideas, and how they can be implemented to promote culture," Kenny said.