Building a Community for ALL: Diversity Week 2024

A Week of Learning, Connection and Celebration

Diversity Week 2024, themed “Life Together: Building a Community for ALL,” concluded successfully last week. The event, organized in collaboration with the Office of Hope, Unity and Belonging (HUB), featured a range of activities including religions services, seminars and panels. 

Disability Advocacy  

Among Diversity Week events were opportunities to learn more about disability advocacy.  

At “Instruments of Movement," music therapy Professor Nicole Richard Williams presented her research on how auditory feedback can affect motor timing accuracy and variability in autistic individuals across continuous and discontinuous motor tasks. Her findings suggest auditory feedback may help autistic individuals to have more consistent motor timing, particularly for continuous tasks and playing instruments may thus be helpful for motor timing in autism.  

The Disabled Students Union hosted a panel discussion on integrating disability perspectives into Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives. The event highlighted strategies for improving workplace accessibility and support for individuals with disabilities.  

Global Bruins: Cultivating Empathy through Perspective 

Global Bruins creates opportunities for students to develop cultural competency and celebrate cultural differences. 

On Wednesday, Shauna Walsh, the assistant director of international student and scholar services, hosted “Global Bruins: Shifting Perception.” The seminar used out–of-context photos to demonstrate the importance of avoiding assumptions based on personal experiences. “It is very easy for us to think that because of our background and knowledge, we have one truth, and that is what we thoroughly believe,” explained Walsh. “That's okay, but we need to make sure we're not putting those truths on other people.” 

The event counted as credit towards the Intercultural Competency Program. Students who attend seven co-curricular workshops in conjunction with completing the Global Bruins program receive recognition at graduation.  

Hispanic Heritage Month: A Vibrant Celebration of Culture 

Hispanic Heritage Month was celebrated with food trucks, a Mexican Folklorico dance performance, a mariachi band and salsa dance lessons during a bell tower patio fiesta.  

Dr. Edgar Diaz-Cruz, department chair and professor in the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and member of the Hispanic Heritage Month planning committee, gave a bilingual welcome to attendees.   

“Hispanic Heritage Month, or Mes de la Herencia Hispana, is a great way to celebrate the contributions and achievements of Hispanic and Latinx individuals,” said Diaz-Cruz. “It is also a way to celebrate the rich Hispanic Latinx culture.”  

The HUB will continue celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month on campus through Oct.15. 

View the Hispanic Heritage Month schedule. 

Diversity Through Art, Music and Entertainment 

The week also celebrated diversity through art, music and entertainment.  

• A presentation by photographer and Guggenheim fellow Tamara Reynolds on her documentary photography project, "The Visitation.” 

• A multilingual worship night hosted by Asian American InterVarsity  

• A discussion on DEI in film and TV by the Women in Film student organization.  

• A seminar hosted by Making Noise, a podcast that chronicles the journey of the locally founded, Black-owned concert promotion company Lovenoise. 

• A diversity symposium hosted by the Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business highlighting the richness of identity, belonging, and cultural heritage, honoring stories often left untold.  

Other Diversity Week Celebrations 

Additional events included Real Talk discussions for faculty and staff, the new Unlikely Friends initiative for student dialogue and a Rosh Hashanah celebration hosted by the Jewish Student Association.