Diversity and accessibility

Learning Objectives

• Identify implications of accessibility on campus and in communities

Directions

This activity will help you examine ways in which you can develop your awareness of and commitment to diversity on campus. Answer the following questions to the best of your ability:

• What are my plans for expanding myself personally and intellectually in college?
• What kind of community will help me expand most fully, with diversity as a factor in my expansion?
• What are my comfort zones, and how might I expand them to connect more diversely?
• Do I want to be challenged by new viewpoints, or will I feel more comfortable connecting with people who are like me?
• What are my biggest questions about diversity?
• Write several paragraphs reflecting on the questions above.
• Submit this assignment according to directions from your instructor.

Consider the following strategies to help you answer the questions:

• Examine extracurricular activities. Can you get involved with clubs or organizations that promote and expand diversity?
• Review your college’s curriculum. In what ways does it reflect diversity? Does it have departments and courses on historically unrepresented peoples, e.g., cultural and ethnic studies, and gender and sexuality studies. Look for study-abroad programs, as well.
• Read your college’s mission statement. Read the mission statement of other colleges. How do they match up with your values and beliefs? How do they align with the value of diversity?
• Inquire with friends, faculty, colleagues, family. Be open about diversity. What does it mean to others? What positive effects has it had on them? Ask people about diversity.
• Research can help. You might consult college literature, Web sites, resource centers and organizations on campus, etc.