Fall 2012 Issue - Colby-Sawyer College

Who We Are, What We Stand For
by J. M. Clark ’11
As the Colby-Sawyer
community expands, one
of its intentional focuses
is to create greater diversity
on campus. More
students and faculty are
coming to the college from
abroad, enriching the
campus and opening the
community to new
cultures. Students have
more opportunities to
study abroad, leaping
outside of their comfort
zones and returning
to campus to challenge
others to do the same.
Practicing a global perspective
and awareness of
other cultures is increasingly
important to Colby-
Sawyer’s educational
community.
The Diversity Council
is a new student organization
that seeks to engage
the campus community in
diversity issues. Although
Colby-Sawyer is seeing
a greater enrollment of
international students,
32 Colby-Sawyer College Magazine
the majority of the student
body has typically been
from New England. As the
campus continues to grow,
one of the council’s goals
is to strive for as inclusive
a community as possible
while hosting events and
programs that encourage
diversity. Pamela Serota
Cote, associate dean of
International and Diversity
Programs, created and
oversees the council,
which began its work in
the fall of 2011. After its
first year of events and
campaigns, Cote says the
group is ready to dig
deeper.
“I am a big fan of try
and try again,” says Serota
Cote as she reflects on
the year. “You never know
what will click with
people.”
The council gained
momentum with a core
group of students dedicated
to tackling the diversity
issues they saw on
campus. Throughout the
year the council showed
films and hosted events,
such as the “I Stand
For” campaign, which took
place during Diversity
Awareness Week in
January. The idea, which
came from council
“There is so much to be gained
from different ideologies, cultures
and experiences.”
member Ryan Prothro ’13,
was to invite people to
define what cause or issue
they stand for. The hope
was that the event would
increase dialogue about
diversity and shed light on
students’ concerns. “The
students on the council
identified division as
one of the issues they saw
on campus,” says Serota
Cote. “They wanted to
have an event that would
encourage people simply
to talk to each other.”