Challenge - Spring/Summer 2012 - Tiffin University

26 | SPRING / SUMMER 2012 | CHALLENGE
One Week in May
Graduate Students Study Different
Cultures
It was a cold night for early May. The temperature was already
dropping when a group of TU graduate students gathered
behind the Main Classroom Building at Tiffin University
and set about erecting a makeshift “tent city” in anticipation
of experiencing the challenges of homelessness.
A few of the students in Dr.
Elizabeth Victor’s Cultural Competence
class were lucky enough
to shelter themselves from the
elements in actual tents. Others
scoured the city for the huge
cardboard boxes that they called
“home” for the night. There
were no campfires to keep them
warm, and no food from 3 p.m.
Dr. Elizabeth Victor
until the following morning.
No one was complaining,
though. In fact, these students in the Forensic Psychology
Program seemed grateful. That Thursday night was the
culmination of a trip earlier in the day when the students
volunteered at Toledo’s three main homeless shelters, where
they encountered the real faces of those who had fallen on
hard times.
It had been a long, whirlwind week. Each day, the class
journeyed to a different area of Toledo to experience firsthand
the cultures and religions that, in most cases, were far
different from their own.
“This week is what we call
immersion experiences. They go
places and learn by doing,” said Dr.
Victor, who organizes the field trips
annually. “The goal is to help them
develop an awareness of other cultures
and other types of people that
they may never have been exposed
to, whom they may be working with
in the future. Every year it’s something
different.”
This year, the week began with the students
visiting the Shared Life Studio in Toledo,
where they met the artists — all of whom have
developmental disabilities. They also attended a seminar
about the effects of poverty and homelessness, presented
by Bridges Out of Poverty.
“All of this teaches them how to deal with people of
different incomes, so that when the students get out and
are working in the community, they know the kinds of things
to look for and what to do,” Victor explained. In the afternoon,
Dan Wilkins, an advocate for the disabled, spoke to
the students about disabilities.
After each session, the students were treated to a meal
at an ethnic restaurant.
Throughout the week, the students also experienced
different forms of religions by attending an Islamic mosque,
Jewish synagogue and Hindu temple. They also heard a
presentation from Darlene Newburn, Director of the Ohio
Civil Rights Commission, who talked about discrimination
cases based on race, gender, and religion.
The diversity training continued on Wednesday, when
GLASS — the Gay/Lesbian and Straight Supporters from
TU — spoke to the class. The students also heard from a
woman from India, who explained the cultural differences
between India and the U.S., and offered information about
how to deal with people from East Asian cultures.
On Friday, the students took a potluck-style meal to the
Oaks, Toledo’s homeless shelter for women and children.
They also volunteered at the Cherry Street Mission (the men’s
shelter) and at the Sparrow’s Nest, the shelter for women.
Many in the group seemed touched by the open-arms
reception they received at the shelters.
“They were very open with their stories. Many of those
encountered had suffered from drug addiction and mental
illness. There were different components that brought them
to where they are at today,” said Lily Cardona, who plans to
go to law school after she graduates
in December. “It’s been a long week.
We’ve had a lot of experiences that it
would have taken a long time otherwise
to have gotten.”
Dr. Victor explained that,
besides the hands-on work, the
students are required to complete
online assignments. Then on Friday,
it was time to break camp and do
presentations.
“They have to create their
own agency and make it culturally
competent. This is one of the courses that are required for
licensure,” Dr. Victor said. “We give them the tools, they
build their house. We do this every year. I like it because it
brings out the best in everyone.”
Information on the value of the experience can be
found at: www.carmelitereview.org/issues/v48n4/10.php
For additional information, contact Dr. Elizabeth Victor,
419.344.3804.