Multiculturalism: See beyond the surface
Elon University's administration prides itself on developing a multicultural society, but is blind to the individuality of each student.
To Elon, diversity means showcasing individuals displaying symbols of their respective cultures rather than the unique traits of each student.
University Relations recently produced a video titled "Celebration of Lights," featuring students, faculty and staff of numerous ethnicities, races and religions, to encourage viewers to write on the Elon University Facebook page expressing gratitude for those who have made an impact on the Elon community.
The video was posted in a public forum and has been produced by those affiliated with Elon. As such, it represents the face of Elon. While we acknowledge that Elon does not solely constitute white Christians, the video inaccurately portrays the community's population and misconstrues the significance of cultural symbols.
Prior to the production of the video, Hillel director Nancy Luberoff received a phone call which requested that a Jewish student appear in the video wearing something that indicates the individual's religion. Dan Anderson, director of University Relations, suggested that a male wear a yarmulke (a traditional head covering) in the video.
The request contained no ill intent of any kind, and Anderson explained that the purpose of the request was to further demonstrate that Elon is a community of diverse people.
Although she described the phone call as respectful and considerate, she did not believe that the cultural symbol was an appropriate representation of Jewish students at Elon, considering the fact that no male Jewish student observes the religion to an extent where he would wear a yarmulke in a common setting. Instead she provided University Relations with the name of a student who wears a Star of David daily and would therefore better represent Jewish life at Elon.
The instance illustrates that video producers intended to present a tangible representation of the administration's view of diversity. While the video may have enabled the university to appear diverse, the administration was counterproductive in its efforts.
Essentially, they asked students and faculty to decorate themselves in their culture. The request should have been phrased,
We would like to demonstrate the culture of each individual; please wear an emblem that is significant to you." Instead, they imposed a stereotypical example, promoting a boxed representation of their version of diversity.
Although Anderson said that the video was not intended as a multicultural video, he still wanted viewers to tell "at a glance" that these are people of many different beliefs and many talents and all contribute to making us the community that we are.
But perhaps it is not possible to present one's culture "at a glance."
A headshot cannot exemplify culture. Culture is rooted in tradition and language and beliefs. As a result, we question if multiculturalism is tangible and if Elon should try to make it so.
This is not to say that Elon should not strive for diversity on campus, but in an effort to increase diversity, the administration should not blind itself to the individual and intellectual value of its student body. There is a focus on the origins of a person rather than the life of the Elon community member.
The increase in international students and a student body that better represents the world's diversity is listed as the first priority in The Elon Commitment. The commitment sites the accomplishments of Laith Majali '05 of Jordan, a Sundance Film Festival award winner, to explain how the incorporation of 300 "more students like Laith" on Elon's campus "will enrich the experiences of the entire student body." The administration praises him for where he was born rather than his success.
Realistically, yes, the inclusion of more award-winning students will enhance the academic value of the university. Nevertheless, his achievements are derived from his talent, not this ethnicity, and the Elon Commitment again fails to distinguish the individual from the cultural label.
As seen in the Elon Commitment and the "Celebration of Lights" video, the administration attempts to define and showcase students and faculty according to their cultural contribution to the university. Until the administration sees beyond the superficial traits that signify diversity, it cannot expect its students to help foster the Elon Commitment's definition of a multicultural society.
Updated December 7, 2010
I believe that this article fails to do what it proclaims: see beyond the surface. When I was first asked to appear in the video, I too held similar trepidations about staging a diversity clip. I expressed these concerns in an e-mail addressed to University Relations. However, in the spirit of the holidays, I decided that this film might promote acceptance at this University and highlight some of the students, faculty and staff that help make Elon great. Contrary to my expectations, Dan Anderson did not ask me to say or do anything that represented my Jewish identity. I did not have the Star of David painted on my face, nor was I holding a menorah while chanting from the Torah and. Rather, I just kind of stood there awkwardly with a group of multifaith students. The focus was not on our diverse religions; in fact, it would be impossible to tell who in that scene was Muslim, Mormon, Jewish, Christian or anything else. The 'superficial traits' mentioned in this article simply did not exist in that scene.
I was really irritated, disappointed and even slightly offended when I first heard an Elon administrative leader say that we should have "300 more Laith Majalis." I wholeheartedly disagree with this statement. Having 300 more students like Laith Majali is not going to make Elon a more "diverse" place, because what they are saying is that they want 300 people who are exactly the same. Instead, Elon should be celebrating diversity by appreciating the experiences, background, life stories and unique perspective of each individual because it is the different talents we as a student body offer that makes us diverse and beautiful.
Lastly, I’ll say, origins do matter. In our efforts to see past the color of people’s skins, we negatively have decided that the color doesn’t matter at all. But it does. And people are proud of that. Mr. Majali being from Jordan matters. His legacy on campus is as much for his work as representative of his background and faith to Elon, as much as the success of his films. So no one is served by making race a non-factor. Because it is a part of our identity. It isn’t the whole story, and perhaps this video does make it too much of the story, but it’s not a factor that should be left out completely.