Spring Break
Program seeks to push understanding tolerance to new boundaries
Think Globally Act Locally encourages students to reconsider diversity
By: Travis Robinson
Issue date: 3/27/08 Section: News
But the goal, Pittz said, was to increase awareness and build momentum for this year.
Taylor Hawkins, a junior international studies major and member of AFIL, said he expects it to be fairly popular.
"Students are always burnt out this time of year, especially with student-government elections around the corner," Hawkins said. "People tend to wince when you ask if you can make an announcement at their meetings. I think the day of the event, however, people will really show up in large numbers."
Important to TGAL organizers is the effort to promote diversity.
"For too long, we have had a policy of tolerating diversity. It is now necessary that we usher in a new policy of celebrating diversity," Pittz said.
"Many think of diversity in a racial context but it's bigger than that," McCamey said.
"Sometimes it feels that we are being told that simply adding more people of different races into our organizations and into our academic departments is the key to diversity. This kind of thinking does little to teach us and possibly leads to some of the 'tolerance' issues that we see in our world today," said McCamey, who is a MSC Town Hall executive.
"By interacting with individuals from a variety of backgrounds, we are able to broaden the ways in which we approach our life and discover ourselves," Hawkins said. "Thus our lives are enriched through sharing life and being in community with those who are different from us."
The sentiment that TGAL is trying to convey is that rather than race, background or a mere difference in demographics, the most powerful form of diversity is diversity of thought, like McCamey said when asked about her motivation: "To share beauty and culture with others. My reasoning sounds so elementary, but no one said it had to be complicated. Like the Beatles sang, 'all you need is love.'?"
More information can be found at http://tgal.tamu.googlepages.com/.
Taylor Hawkins, a junior international studies major and member of AFIL, said he expects it to be fairly popular.
"Students are always burnt out this time of year, especially with student-government elections around the corner," Hawkins said. "People tend to wince when you ask if you can make an announcement at their meetings. I think the day of the event, however, people will really show up in large numbers."
Important to TGAL organizers is the effort to promote diversity.
"For too long, we have had a policy of tolerating diversity. It is now necessary that we usher in a new policy of celebrating diversity," Pittz said.
"Many think of diversity in a racial context but it's bigger than that," McCamey said.
"Sometimes it feels that we are being told that simply adding more people of different races into our organizations and into our academic departments is the key to diversity. This kind of thinking does little to teach us and possibly leads to some of the 'tolerance' issues that we see in our world today," said McCamey, who is a MSC Town Hall executive.
"By interacting with individuals from a variety of backgrounds, we are able to broaden the ways in which we approach our life and discover ourselves," Hawkins said. "Thus our lives are enriched through sharing life and being in community with those who are different from us."
The sentiment that TGAL is trying to convey is that rather than race, background or a mere difference in demographics, the most powerful form of diversity is diversity of thought, like McCamey said when asked about her motivation: "To share beauty and culture with others. My reasoning sounds so elementary, but no one said it had to be complicated. Like the Beatles sang, 'all you need is love.'?"
More information can be found at http://tgal.tamu.googlepages.com/.
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