Trinity University Celebrates First Diversity Week

Taste of Diversity on Friday
Photo by Samantha Luzader

By Samantha Luzader

Trinity students gathered at the Esplanade on Friday to take advantage of the great weather and great food in celebration of Trinity’s first ever Diversity Week.

The event on Friday, Taste of Diversity, showcased a variety of food from around the world, prepared by several religious and cultural groups on campus, such as the Filipino Student Association.

This was the fifth event that Trinity Diversity Connections, or TDC, held for the Diversity Week. Samsara Davalosreyes, a sophomore sociology major and the current president of TDC, decided that Trinity should hold a week of events and discussions revolving around diversity besides TDC’s monthly Diversity Dialogues.

Davalosreyes said that her high school always had a diversity week, and she was inspired by that to start one here at Trinity. “TDC is trying to get those topics that are kind of taboo and make them okay to talk about,” She said.

The week’s events kicked off Monday night with a discussion about Disagreement versus Harassment. For this event, TDC partnered with Trinity Progressives, a non-partisan student organization dedicated to encouraging student activism and political engagement.

Davalosreyes described the event as a success with a “big turn-out for the first day.” The topic inspired some heated discussion, but Davalosreyes said that everyone stayed respectful and open to other people’s perspectives.

Tuesday night’s event was “Facing Ableism,” which was jointly held with Trinity’s Disability Services department. Students watched a five-minute video defining Ableism and then discussed the topic in small groups.

Wednesday night, TDC hosted “Outside the Trinity Greek Bubble: Multicultural Sororities,” a Greek 101 event informing Trinity students about national multicultural sororities that have local chapters in San Antonio.

One of TDC’s biggest roles on campus is to facilitate cooperation and discussion between the numerous and diverse groups on campus. Thus the Religious Diversity Dialogue on Thursday night.

At the event, students and faculty from every religious group on campus met in the Woodlawn room in the Coates University Center. Participants broke off into small groups and took turns answering questions about their relationship with faith and religion.

Stella Affognon, sophomore chemistry major, said she came to Thursday night’s event because having grown-up in the Catholic Church, she “wanted to learn other people’s perspectives.”

Affognon believes that events like this are important because “with knowledge comes respect.” She believes that learning about other people’s backgrounds and beliefs teaches people to love and respect each other better.

This view was echoed by Claire Steinmann, a junior communications major. She said that it is important that TDC put on events like the Diversity Week because “being faced with opinions that are different from one’s own” are important for growing as a person and essential in better understanding one’s own beliefs.

Respect is a big theme for all of TDC’s Diversity Dialogues. Huda Syed, a junior Biology major and TDC’s current vice president, said that even when students disagree during a Diversity Dialogue, everyone stays respectful. “There is no tension, no debate,” only conversation, Syed said.

“We’re not going to solve these issues with a few conversations,” said TDC president Davalosreyes, but events like the Diversity Week helped students begin to address the issues and challenges they are facing.