CREDE - Center for Race, Ethnicity & Diversity Education

“Diversity” has become a buzzword on college campuses that misses a larger point, said activist and BET personality Jeff Johnson, who visited campus Saturday for Elon University’s inaugural Diversity Leadership Conference. More should be done to foster greater community, he said, and responsibility for that rests with student leaders.

Elon University took part in the 21st National African-American Read-In on Friday when students, faculty and staff read aloud in Ward Octagon inside the Moseley Center. Organizers collected donations for Haiti relief and for local libraries at the event, which included an afternoon reading by Elon President Leo M. Lambert.

Many students, faculty and staff at Elon University have expressed concern for the people of Haiti following a massive earthquake on Tuesday that killed tens of thousands and devastated much of the Caribbean nation. A current student and a 2009 alum on the ground in Haiti have made contact with their families in the United States, while another two current students and other alumni have started hearing from their own relatives still in the country.

Dozens of Elon students turned out Monday morning for a “Freedom Journey” community march, followed by service activities at Elon First Baptist Church and Kopper Top Life Learning Center, which served as reminders of how civil rights pioneer Martin Luther King Jr. shaped a movement a generation ago to advance equality for all people.