Students, faculty, staff and community members gathered for a Conversation on Campus Climate on Sept. 29, with facilitators in yellow shirts leading small group discussions.
New Chief Diversity Officer Kathy Wong(Lau), with the help of facilitator Shawn Spano, a professor of communication studies, continued the Conversations on Campus Climate series that began last spring after the release of the 2015 Campus Climate Survey. The dialogue sessions are open to students, staff, faculty and the general public to discuss the results of the survey as well as their experiences on campus.
“There is a great need to have conversations on our campus,” said President Mary Papazian, at the start of the event. “As you graduate and go off to professional lives, I hope you maintain your commitment to social justice.”
More than 100 people attended the Sept. 29 event with volunteer facilitators assigned to small group discussions in the ballroom while Spano moderated the large group part of the session.
“We want to explore the vision – what kind of university do we want? What culture do we want?” he said.
The event focused on gathering insight into community members’ experiences on campus as well as what they would like to see change. An upcoming November session will center on developing action items to achieve the goal of a more inclusive and welcoming community.
“We want everyone to listen to understand the experiences of others,” stated Spano, who encouraged participants to speak openly and to be respectful of others opinions.
Wong(Lau) shared key findings from the campus climate survey of students (faculty, staff and administrators were also invited to complete the survey), conducted in spring 2015. SJSU’s President’s Office released the results and analysis in fall 2015. According to the survey, half of students who responded reported exposure to discrimination or harassment, primarily hearing an insensitive or intolerant remark by other students.
In small groups, facilitators asked students, faculty, staff and administrators if they were surprised by the findings in the survey and reported some of the thoughts back to the larger group. Some students who were new to campus as freshmen said they were surprised at the findings, but that they felt welcome at SJSU. Others shared personal stories of times they experienced insensitive or intolerant remarks due to a part of their identity.
Wong(Lau) said research shows that intergroup dialogue with thoughtful, cognitive framing can make conflict more productive between groups.
“One of the key things that is important is highly cognitive empathy,” she said. “You need to understand someone’s perspective enough to understand why they might feel the way they do.”
The second Conversation on Campus