Diversity Peer Educators-perhaps the name has been heard around campus, but not many are really aware of who this group of students is and just what it is they do.
"[The Diversity Peer Educators] deal with issues on campus and improve the climate of diversity," said Jon Tucker, Leadership Development Coordinator.
Supervised by Tucker, the group is comprised of students who volunteer their time to serve as members of the group. According to Tucker, this setting is ideal, because it is "students influencing students," allowing the group to have more of an impact on their peers.
There are three main goals of the Diversity Peer Educators:
"The first is to put on activities and programs for the campus," Tucker said.
These activities address such varied issues as class, religion and even gender.
The second goal is one-on-one interaction, which is why having the group comprised of students has such a powerful impact. Members of the group can confront stereotypes and jokes that make fun of groups of people as they are taking place in regular conversation.
"It is an informal network to positively influence students," said Tucker.
Finally, the last goal is continuing education.
"Learning about diversity is a lifelong process," said Tucker.
A recent program put on by the Diversity Peer Educators that students may have been aware of was the "Voices of Religion." Students around campus were interviewed and asked a series of questions regarding religion and spirituality in society. A DVD was then made with plans to show it to the campus community.
Students involved in the group feel very passionately about what it is they are conveying to the students of the university.
"I decided to become a Diversity Peer Educator for a variety of reasons," said student Emily Holmes. "First, I love diversity; it is one of the things that make this world so wonderful. Second, life would be so boring if everyone and everything was all the same. I think that too many people have forgotten how lucky we are to live in a diverse world, and I want to remind them of this. Third, I enjoy learning about, promoting and educating others about diversity. When I learned about Diversity Peer Educators, I knew that this would be a really great way to do all three of these things."
The group has also allowed students such as Holmes to target specific forms of diversity that they feel are important.
"Disability is a type of diversity but not enough people know this and not enough people know about disabilities," said Holmes. "This is the last reason why I joined; I want to educate others specifically on this topic because I feel that the more people know and understand disabilities, the easier it will be for them to accept it and appreciate it within society."
Some students find the activities Diversity Peer Educators take part in can qualify them for needed hours other groups may require. Todor Ivanov is not only a member of Diversity Peer Educators but also of ICSP, International Student Cultural Service Program.
"I have a commitment of spending 80 hours a year of cultural service," said Ivanov. "The projects we do with the Diversity Peer Educators group qualify for that."
Of course, there is still the personal level of benefits the group brings.
"I have a great interest in the perspectives that different people can have," said Ivanov. "It's a challenge, though, to make all those unique viewpoints come together and at least acknowledge each other. A lot of the misunderstandings between different people seem to come largely from ignorance, and we, as a group, are trying to bring greater diversity awareness on our campus."
The process of becoming a Diversity Peer Educator involves a four- to five-hour training process, one time each term, as well as baseline education components regarding discrimination, stereotypes and privileges.
For students interested in becoming a Diversity Peer Educator, they need only contact Jon Tucker at his office in the Werner University Center, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.