By
Ayse Guner
Arizona Daily Wildcat
"It's Time to Talk" kicked off to bring discussions together
When Lashondrell Dancer first came to the UA more than four years ago, she felt uncomfortable being one of the few black students in her classes.
"It was sort of a cultural shock," said Dancer, an interdisciplinary studies senior, who grew up in south Phoenix. "I was used to being around a lot of colored people."
"But after a while, I got used to being the only one in my classes because I had no choice," she added.
Dancer was one of many students who shared their ethnic experiences at yesterday's lunch called "It's Time to Talk." The discussion was part of a series of forums sponsored by the Young Women's Christian Association.
YWCA of Tucson has been operating since 1917 to eliminate racism and provide opportunities for women to socially advance.
University of Arizona President Peter Likins opened the meeting with a speech and closed it by expressing his hopes for an ongoing discussion on racial issues.
Yesterday's meeting was the beginning of a year-long discussion on diversity issues, "but I hope more than that," Likins said.
"It takes time to develop trust," he said.
"We have to prepare ourselves to explore those issues in a deeper level," Likins added while closing the lunch.
Likins co-chairs the community advisory council for "It's Time to Talk" along with Slivy Edmonds Cotton, 1998 Woman of the Year.
The series of forums are aimed to bring various ethnic groups together and form dialogue among them in an attempt to eliminate racism.
"This is an incredible loving community, but even here there are things we don't talk about," Likins said.
The lunch began with speeches from two The New York Times editors, Dana Canedy and Michael Winerip, who shared insights of their two-year project that analyzed the racial issues in the United States.
The Times published a series of articles entitled "How Race is Lived in America."
After their speeches, the editors answered several questions from the audience, and encouraged everyone to discuss the issues while eating lunch.
About 700 people attended the meeting, and about 100 of them were UA students and faculty.
Representatives attended from several UA organizations, including the Hillel Foundation, a non-profit organization that serves as a Jewish cultural center for UA students; African American Student Affairs and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Student Center; Asian Pacific American Student Affairs and Chicano/Hispano Student Affairs and Resource Center.
Rabbi Jonathan Freirich, the Hillel Foundation assistant director, said about 20 students from multicultural programs and services attended the lunch and were divided evenly to represent each center.
"People shared their experiences living as a particular ethnic person and how they experienced race in general," Freirich said.
A $400 grant from International Hillel Foundation paid for the students to attend the event.
After their discussion, students said the forum allowed them to meet people from different ethnic backgrounds and share their experiences.
Kerri Podlas, student president of Hillel Foundation, said without a program like this, "we wouldn't open up to any groups on campus."
Podlas, an interdisciplinary studies senior, said awareness and communication help ethnic students eliminate racial stereotypes on campuses.
Racism stems from the home environment that a child is raised and expands by the ignorance of people, Dancer added.
"I feel like a lot of students come to college and they take their experiences with them from their family values. Those experiences from home hinder them from expanding their relations or views," said Danielle Licht, an interdisciplinary international studies junior. "I see it in myself."
The talk was held from noon to 1:30 p.m. at DoubleTree Hotel at Reid Park, 445 S. Alvernon Way.
