Diversity.

When we think of diversity, images of the turbulent sixties pop into our minds as if our generation experienced them ourselves instead of seeing them through newsreels and videocassettes.

Average Americans like to think that they are far away from the violence and prejudice of the world, but as the recent events at the Loyola law school show, the students are not as far removed as they like to think.

According to Caryn Winters, political science junior, in 1993, Loyola began a program called Bridging the Gap, an organization designed to break down prejudices among students. By working with student organizations and the campus, Bridging the Gap organized various soup and substance events, multi-cultural events and open forums for student discussion.

In the spring of 2000, many diversity programs on campus hit a snag. At the Airband Competition during Greek Week that year, several members from an on campus sorority made racial slurs against a fraternity.

Word of the airband incident spread quickly to the administration, but it wasn’t until several hundred students participated in a peaceful sit-in that any action was taken against the sorority.

In the wake of the sit-in, the university showcased several guest speakers and events in order to quell the increasing irritation over their handling of the incident.

“Bridging the Gap was a cornerstone in this process, having numerous contacts and previous experience in the handling of such matters. Since 2000, the amount of diversity programming has decreased,” said Winters, president of Bridging the Gap.

Despite its importance, Bridging the Gap seemingly disappeared the next year.

There was little to no programming and the organization faltered when those involved found themselves overcommitted and unable to spend the necessary time with Bridging the Gap, said Winters. Still officially recognized by the university but inactive in the extreme, Bridging the Gap’s absence in student affairs led to a sharp decline in guest speakers and multi-cultural events.

But this year, primarily due to the events of Sept. 11, Bridging the Gap is back, and stronger than ever before.

Winters says she is excited about rejuvenating the program, but admits that there are problems.

“When you’re restarting from scratch, which we are, it’s a little difficult,” she says.

Bridging the Gap has already planned one event, a soup and substance gathering, for Feb. 1. It will feature guest-speaker Ted Quant, director of the Twomey Center for Peace Through Justice. The event will serve as not only a chance for students to voice their concerns, but will also serve as a diversity workshop.

It’s not a forum for ethnic minorities alone, and Winters emphasized that.

“We’re not concerned with just ethnic minorities; we want to include everyone: students and the administration.”

While Bridging the Gap works away, Loyola is busy forming a Multi-cultural center under the guidance of Jim Eiseman, vice president of Student Affairs.

When asked if she thought Bridging the Gap would solve racial tensions on campus, Winters pondered for a moment and said, “The number one way to stop violence is to fight ignorance. Too many people are acting on their own experiences, and that’s not a good thing.”

But Bridging the Gap is not the only multi-cultural organization on campus. Other student organizations, such as Loyola Asian Student Organization, the Black Student Union and La Gente also promote cultural awareness and communication among members of the Loyola Community.

According to Francisco Fernandez, La Gente president and communications junior, the diversity organizations have improved their relations over the past few years.

“I think that organization interaction has changed for the better, as far as coprogramming and working together goes.”

He added that he sees the groups changing from a stance where they only look our for themselves.

Now, he said, they are more willing to reach out and leave the boundaries of their own group.

One La Gente member, who asked not to be identified explained, “What we want is an organization where people can come and break down the barriers that they’ve created in their minds. It’s not as much about making everyone like everyone as it is to educate people.”