Finding DiversityCreating Inclusive Communities

DefinitionsDiversityThe quality or state of having many different forms, types, ideas, etc.The state of having people who are different races or who have different cultures in a group or organization.

InclusionThe action, practice, or policy of including any person in an activity, system, organization, or process, irrespective of race, gender, religion, age, ability, etc.

Social justiceJustice in terms of distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within society.

Paul Gorski’s Programming Model

1. Exclusion

2. Heroes and Holidays

3. Representational Inclusion

4. Participatory Inclusion

5. Equity and Social Justice

Stage I: ExclusionAt the Exclusion stage, we give no thoughtor consideration to diversity ormulticulturalism. As a result of this lack ofconsciousness (i.e. no active decision todo harm), day-to-day life, as well asprograms and events, reflects dominantculture. Our work styles ultimately maintainthe safety, comfort, and privilege of thosepeople who already enjoy the mostsafety, comfort, and privilege in the largersociety. Groups include white people,men, heterosexual people, Christians,wealthy people, first language Englishspeakers, and able-bodied people.

Stage II: Heroes and Holidays

At the Heroes and Holidays stage, wedesign individual programs to celebratediversity. These programs are often builtaround holidays or celebratory months,such as Black History Month or Women'sHistory Month. We might decorate ourhalls with posters of famous people fromparticular groups or host programs thatcenter around food, costumes, and othersurface-level aspects of culture.

These types of programs often provideopportunities for cross-cultural collaboration.However, too often, special celebrationsare used to justify the day-to-day exclusionof particular groups. Sometimes, thesecelebrations can be, in the long run, morealienating, as they further define particulargroups and individuals as "the other."Additionally, this approach fails to recognizeand address real issues and problems likeracism, sexism, heterosexism/homophobia,and others.

Stage II: Heroes and Holidays

Stage III: Representational InclusionAt this stage, our programs transcend surface-levelcultural celebrations to focus on serious issues. Theseprograms normally involve guest speakers or presenterswho represent a particular group or share an experiencethat relates to a current issue of importance to a residentcommunity. For example, if we hear homophobicremarks, we might invite a panel of LGBT students to talkto our residents. The primary aim of these programs is toaddress multicultural issues and tensions by providinginformation to our residents.

Particularly if we are in a privileged group(s), we aresending a strong message that these are importantissues, and that we are allies. However this approachoften excludes the voices, stories, and real experiencesof the people for whom we have created the programs.

Rosie King: How autism freed me to be myself

“But that's not just with autisticpeople, either. I've seen it withLGBTQ people, with women,with POC people. People areso afraid of variety that they tryto fit everything into a tiny littlebox with really specific labels.”

Stage IV: Participatory Inclusion

Here, programs are designed to engage theresidents themselves in dialogues about theissues, concerns, prejudices, stereotypes, andoppressions that affect the community. Forexample, we might respond to a racialepithet by facilitating a dialogue amongresidents about race and racism. Programattendees would be encouraged to sharetheir experiences around race and theirperspectives about how it affects theirresidential community. We could form a smallcommittee of students to help decide on hottopics. Overall, at this stage, multiculturalprograms are designed to fully engage theparticipants.

Examples of Participatory Inclusion

Stage V: Equity & Social JusticeThe Equity and Social Justice stage transcends all stagesthat focus solely on programming. At this stage, our rolesin resident life begin with a determination to provide asafe, comfortable, equitable experience for all residents,regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, socioeconomicclass, (dis)ability, first language, gender, sexualorientation, or any other social or cultural identifiers. Webecome proactive instead of reactive, recognizing thatthe prejudices and stereotypes that affect people’sexperiences in society are mirrored in our residence hallsand working to minimize these from the beginning. Wework to create an environment in which people in thecommunity can discuss issues that emerge. We also workto understand how our perspectives, experiences, andbiases affect the way we function in our roles inresidential life and our relationships with others.

References

Gorski, P. (n.d.) Stages of Inclusion in Residence Halls. Retrieved from http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/resources/residence.html

King, R. (TED). (2014, September). TEDMED 2014 Conference. How autism freed me to be myself. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/rosie_king_how_autism_freed_me_to_be_myself?language=en#t-5007