Search

ARCHIVES
CONTACT US
WORLD NEWS

Res Life multicultural awareness efforts bring regional recognition

A national residence life association recently distinguished the multicultural education program of the UA Department of Residence Life for its efforts to bring cultural awareness to students living on campus.

Patrick Call, associate director of Residence Life in charge of residential education, and Matt Helm, the coordinator of the multicultural committee El Mundo, nominated the UA's program for the Association of Inner-Mountain Housing Officers' Commitment to Diversity award. The association announced El Mundo the recipient of the honor at their conference last fall.

AIMHO has representatives from several states in the western region of the United States, including state universities and smaller colleges in New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Montana and Idaho.

"I was honored and pleased that we were recognized by this region," said Tamara White, a member of El Mundo.

Helm said the award is a prestigious distinction, held in high esteem by AIMHO and its members. In addition to distinguishing Residence Life, the award reflects on the entire university, he said.

Successful activities such as the Tunnel of Oppression and the Hunger Banquet helped the University of Arizona stand out among other residential education programs in the region. Programs such as an innovative five-year strategic plan to "normalize" multiculturalism in residence life and a professional specialist to steer the project also contributed to the honor, said Helm.

Retention of a diverse student body is also a goal of Residence Life, Helm said. Many dorm residents are freshmen in their critical first year of college, and Residence Life officials have a prominent role in their lives.

"People that feel they belong stay and graduate," Helm said. "Our motto is, 'We serve, we care, we teach' - but we want to do it for all people. In Residence Life we're in the business of developing students."

Jesse Sostrin, a graduate student in Latin-American diplomacy and entrepreneurship and a member of the El Mundo committee, said attention to diversity is vital and the UA's recognition for it is a step in the right direction for creating more harmony among students of all cultures and lifestyles.

"It means that there's an arena in which dialogue can take place about diversity," said Sostrin. "We're on the cutting edge of something and that's really exciting."

Helm said he was flattered to win the award, but he also had the confidence that his committee would eventually earn such honors.

"I'm really proud to work for this department, to see them creating communities of difference respecting everyone," said Helm. "We're role modeling for other universities - it's really, really happened here."