Multicultural Awareness, Knowledge, & Skills
Graduates should possess the attitudes, beliefs, values, and self-awareness necessary to serve students who are culturally different from themselves. Specifically, students should be able to demonstrate:
a. that they have carefully examined and, when necessary, challenged their own values, worldview, assumptions, and biases;
b. that they possess specific knowledge about how gender, class, race and ethnicity, language, nationality, sexual orientation, age, religion or spirituality, disability, ability, and institutional power affect individuals and their experiences;
c. that they have the ability to effectively challenge and support individuals and systems around diversity issues;
a. that they have carefully examined and, when necessary, challenged their own values, worldview, assumptions, and biases;
b. that they possess specific knowledge about how gender, class, race and ethnicity, language, nationality, sexual orientation, age, religion or spirituality, disability, ability, and institutional power affect individuals and their experiences;
c. that they have the ability to effectively challenge and support individuals and systems around diversity issues;
Learning About My White Privilege
From my time involved with the CHAMP program I have come to understand more that my identity carries with it many facets of privilege in the world and in our society. I may overlook groups of people and/or individuals who are different from myself and I may do this with ease because I grew up in a privileged lifestyle where I did not focus on differences but assumed everyone else was the same as me (Hauer, 2006). As I work with college students on a daily basis I need to be aware of the dynamics of relationships, know how to engage students with who they are, and act upon such knowledge. While I have examined my identity and know some of its power, I need to continually educate myself in order to become more knowledgeable (Castallenos, Gloria, Mayorga, & Salas 2007). Then I must take that knowledge and put it into action. |
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Understanding Asian/Pacific Islander Students
For the Role of Diversity in Student Affairs (CSA 567) course, I had the opportunity to further my awareness, knowledge, and skills with the Asian/Pacific Islander community (Gloria & Ho, 2003; Lee, 2006). I interacted with Asian/Pacific Isandlers to discuss my own biases, watched a film, and cooked food. I also got to read articles, meet with API student leaders on APU’s campus, and create a program for student awareness. The assignment enabled me to gain more knowledge about how race and ethnicity affect college students and their college experience. Another concept I learned in this assignment was the interactions between multiple aspects of a college student’s identity. I witnessed the interplay of class and institutional power amongst the various subgroups within the API community. |
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Reconstructing “I Have a Dream”
At APU, a predominantly white campus, I took it upon myself to create a short workshop for the 10 undergraduate student workers in the service-learning office to understand Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech. I organized a session during a general staff meeting in which we all broke down Dr. King's words, reflected on them, and then made them our own. I tried to teach the students that he was a leader through his excellent communication skills. That his moving literature and speeches have kept his vision alive even after his passing. Many people do not notice the poetic nature of his writings and the power contained within each word, each phrase. What I wanted students to walk away with was the thought that non-violent action can be powerful and successful, especially with issues of diversity. |
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