Brown and White Vol. 127 no. 3

              The Brown and White
Vol. 127 No. 3
Friday, September 12, 2014
‘All the Lehigh News First’
By PERRI WERTHEIMER
B&W Staff
Multicultural Greek Council prepares for annual yard show
Photo Courtesy of Lehigh Communications & Public Affairs
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. brothers Scott Grant, ’16; Kelly Petty, ’15; Jovan Campbell, ’14; and Paul Oyefesobi, ’14, perform at last year’s Dance Marathon. The Kappas, along with other members of Lehigh’s Multicultural Greek Council, are scheduled to perform Friday at their annual yard show on the UC Front Lawn.
The Cornell Interactive Theatre Ensemble returned to Lehigh for a series of diversity, inclusion and en­gagement workshops that aimed to engage the campus community in a movement toward diversity and in­clusiveness education.
The workshops are a collabora­tion by Board of Trustees Chair Brad Scheler, Interim President Kevin Clayton, Provost Pat Farrell and Vice President Patricia Johnson, and are a step toward advancing inclusiveness at Lehigh and moving forward as a unit and institution, said Vice Provost for Academic Diversity Henry Odi.
“These efforts are not about any
CITE workshop trains faculty and staff on inclusivity, diversity
By JACQUELINE TENREIRO
Lead News Editor
one person or group, but is about what is best for Lehigh University and mak­ing it a greater institution in the coun­try,” Odi said. “We have embarked on a grass root strategy for broader engage­ment across the university.”
CITE’s purpose as a resource for Le­high’s employees is to facilitate dialogue around issues of diversity and exclusion, particularly those that may develop into points of conflict in the workplace. The session was not limited to addressing diversity in any single form. Instead, it contextualized instances of age-, sexual orientation-, political leanings- and sex-based marginalization.
Members of the CITE group took to the stage to take on a series of roles – each depicting a unique experience from a diverse individual met with said issues in their respective work environ­ments.
Immediately following the skits, the audience was invited to consider which characters they most related to, if any.
The performances, though not based on a particular academic setting, re­flected many of the issues brought to light in discussions by Lehigh faculty and staff.
Consultant and facilitator of the CITE group, Vivian Relta, encouraged the audience of faculty, staff and stu­dents to listen for the complexity of the stories being told, and not only to dis­tinguish the similarities between them, but also that which makes them differ­ent.
“Our mission is to give voice to a va­riety of points of view within the human experience in order to facilitate a shift in culture,” Relta said. “And that shift is toward greater trust, honesty, respect and dignity for all people.”
To open the session, a scenario that tackled ageism in the workplace depict­ed Larry, a long-time employee who expressed concern that he was passed over for training opportunities because he was nearing retirement age.
“I’m an active member of my work­place community, and just because I’ve been here a long time doesn’t mean I’m not open or interested in finding a new way of doing things,” actor Dane Cruz
See CITE Page 4
Members of Lehigh’s Multicul­tural Greek Council will perform in their annual yard show Fri­day, which aims to showcase each chapter’s individual identity and the organization as a whole.
Chris Naunay, ‘16, a member of Lambda Sigma Upsilon Latino
See MGC Page 2
Fraternity Inc. and the former pres­ident of the Multicultural Greek Council, said students will get to know the organizations better by watching the performances, which will include stepping, strolling and saluting.
He said each of the routines is “important and reflect(s) the cultur­al aspects of our organization(s).”
“We wanted to put on an interac­tive and crowd-stunning show with our various performances,” Naunay said.
He said attendees should expect a “unique and one-of-a-kind show” that will be both informative and entertaining. This year, Naunay will be performing in the yard show and said he thinks the acts will be “crazier and sharper than ever be­fore.”
“I recommend students attend so they can get the full Lehigh experi­ence,” Naunay said.
“I feel that many students don’t necessarily explore the entire Le­high community and as a result have a hindered college experience without even knowing it. Coming out to events such as our yard show