Building awareness: Campus pushes for cultural embrace

Sensitivity and awareness to diverse cultures is not only vital, but necessary on a college campus like the University of South Dakota.

While it is still common to see hesitation to accept the unknown, the university is pushing for students to spend their time at USD learning to not only be aware of the variety of cultures and ways of life surrounding them, but to also be considerate of them.

In order to enhance this acceptance and understanding in the student population, the university has taken action to make diverse cultures a more prominent priority on campus.

Events ranging from International Education Week to a variety of speakers are held on campus in an effort to engage students in the idea of learning and eventually embracing other cultures they may not be familiar with.

Among their number of guests this semester, the Campus Activities Board is sponsoring the appearance of speaker Timothy Kurek to tell his story of living for one year under the label of being gay and the experiences he was forced to handle with his family and friends. This type of interaction opens the eyes of students to lifestyles they have never encountered.

The student group also brings in guests to speak on relatable issues on college campuses and comedians as way to bring students together.

In continuance of the education on cultures, the university holds an entire week dedicated to international education. The week consists of lectures, films and events that attempt to bring students of different cultures together to be able to understand just how diverse of a campus USD is becoming.

At a liberal arts college, it is becoming more and more common that student backgrounds, heritages and cultures range from one end of the spectrum to another. Especially with athletic recruits from all over the country and the international program, the diversity of students is only going in upward direction.

If the university continues to reinforce the basic principle of cultural awareness on campus, students as a whole will start to embrace the idea and its importance, but an establishment of cultural acceptance will become the norm rather than a future goal.