Students
learn through voices
By Ramón Torres
On-line Forty-Niner
As
one of the most diverse college campuses
in Southern California, Cal State Long Beach
faces the need for alternative avenues that
promote awareness and expand the opportunity
for cross-cultural and inter-group interaction
on campus.
Many of the 20 that participated in Voices
of Discovery, an inter-group dialogue program,
were present to receive a certificate of
completion at the closing ceremony Thursday
at Counseling and Psychological Services
at CSULB.
Voices of Discovery is an option that fosters
meaningful interaction between students
from different backgrounds. Through participation
in the program students, increase their
understanding of themselves, the groups
they belong to and of others who belong
to groups different than their own, said
psychologist Rosa Moreno Alcaraz, program
coordinator at Counseling and Psychological
Services.
“It helps students to begin to see that
they have stereotypes about other cultures,
and often those stereotypes make them distance
themselves from those cultures because they
have certain believes,” Moreno said.
Communication major Joel Garcia said that
by being in this program students learn
to respect other people’s views and learn
how to interact with others.
“I found out it was much more than an opportunity
to earn extra credit,” Garcia said. “It
is an opportunity to grow, this program
provides an opportunity to share who you
are as well as to understand other people
who they are.”
The groups consist of five to six students
from each of two identity groups and are
guided by two trained facilitators representative
of the two groups. The group discussions
focus on identity development, stereotyping,
discrimination, awareness and sensitivity.
The students commit to meet for two hours
a week for six weeks and then participate
in a
closing ceremony, Moreno said.
“By comparing yourself to different cultures
when you’re working in groups, you realize
that we all have a lot of similarities with
the other cultures. And it is not just about
differences,” Annalisa Morales, nursing
major, said. “You develop relationships
with other people from different cultures
that you were afraid of because of ignorance
or fear.”
Moreno said that the program was implemented
in the spring of 2000 and both faculty and
students have stated that the program enhanced
students’ personal development as well as
their awareness and understanding of others.
“It was a good experience to me, learning
to communicate to other people by being
more open and understanding,” Christine
Pejoyo, nursing major, said. “In creating
a dialogue we listen to the other views
and talk about things that impact our life
everyday.”
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