Each month, students gather on campus to talk about issues relating to diversity.
A small group of students met on Feb. 24 in Bracken Library to learn about and discuss xenophobia, or the fear of foreigners. The presentation featured examples from history and the media. Discussions where students could share their reactions or experiences followed the presentation.
Seth Kaempfer, a graduate assistant in the Multicultural Center, hosts a different program each month on a variety of topics.
He asked students last semester what cultural things they would like to learn about and understand, and Islamophobia came up as one of the top topics.
“Due to my undergrad being in global studies security, I knew about xenophobia, and I knew about the pervasiveness of it," Kaempfer said. "I thought it would be a really good topic to initially talk about and then go into Islamophobia.”
Kaempfer said these discussions help create recognition and visibility on topics that aren’t normally talked about. He said having that recognition for underrepresented identities is incredibly important.
“This is a way and a forum to talk about them on campus,” he said. “I love doing the research, I love choosing the topic and seeing how people react to it and kind of having fun with it.”
Freshman social work major Michelle Loconte said she came because she enjoys learning about people and cultures that are different than her.
“[Learning about diversity] is hugely important," Loconte said. "We live in the United States; we pride ourselves on being a mixing pot.”
Christianne Link, a sophomore nursing major, attended the event as a part of her cultural nursing class.
She said she didn’t know what xenophobia was before going.
“I thought it was interesting," she said. "[There are] things that I know go on, but I have never seen, so it was interesting to see videos of that happening."
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