As Black History Month ends, the Emerald is taking a look at two prominent black individuals who have dedicated their time and energy to promoting diversity and cultural awareness on campus.
Assistant Vice Provost of Institutional Equity and Diversity Carla Gary is working to spearhead the administration’s effort to increase diversity by helping create a five-year diversity program on campus.
Co-Director of the Black Student Union Tremaine Thompson is working from the student angle to recruit and involve students in different
cultural affairs.
Carla D. Gary
Working toward campus diversity is a never-ending battle. Those who have devoted themselves to that battle face numerous challenges every day.
Carla Gary, assistant vice provost for Institutional Equity and Diversity, is part of many projects working to bring cultural variety to campus. Gary is a University alumna who returned to Oregon six years ago after working at universities in Maryland and Pennsylvania.
“My mother told me, ‘I know you are doing great work, but it would be nice if you could do it at home,’” Gary said.
One of her newest and most exciting projects “expands and fills the pipeline” by preparing students for college, she said. The program brings in eighth-grade students to live in the residence halls and work on research projects. The students remain in the program, returning to campus each summer until they graduate from high school.
Each year a new group of eighth-grade students enters the program. The program’s goals are to build skills and abilities for college preparation that schools with limited Advanced Placement classes and few college-bound students are unable to offer.
“It helps these kids see themselves as college material,”
Gary said.
Gary also collaborates on the diversity plan with Greg Vincent, vice provost for Institutional Equity and Diversity. Gary said the plan is
working well.
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“To see the University embrace the width and breadth of possibilities, it’s exciting,” Gary said. “We are anxious and impatient because we have waited too long, but there is steady progress. This isn’t a quick fix.”
A large part of the solution is for people to realize that issues of diversity do not only affect racial minorities, but they affect everyone, Gary said, adding that the multiple initiatives on campus to talk about diversity are a promising change.
“Before it was the exception when there were these conversations,” Gary said. “People are stepping up and extending themselves. All parts, not just the usual people, have stepped up and said, ‘We will commit.’ It makes me proud that we are serious about it.”
Gary said true campus diversity isn’t about numbers and quotas, but reaching critical mass, which she described as students’ ability
to see themselves reflected in
their surroundings.
“It’s walking in and knowing the world will look like you or appear the same,” Gary said. “If I was to go to the front of the class, you aren’t surprised. When a student is in class and is the only student of color, or the only faculty member of color in a department, you are in the spotlight to be everything for all people of color. It’s a very exciting but isolating place to be.”
Another crucial part of diversity on campus is an overall understanding of diversity and different cultures rather than celebrating diversity just once
a year.
“Things that you honor you live every day,” Gary said. “Respect that we live different lives. I live it every day; I want to get beyond the notion that we can acknowledge all of black history in one month. Come March I’ll still be black and this will still be relevant.”
Tremaine Thompson
Getting people involved is part of Tremaine Thompson’s job description; as co-director of the Black Student Union, he is responsible for attracting interest from outside the group.
Thompson has been part of the BSU since his freshman year, and he says moving into a leadership position seemed like a natural fit for him. He focuses on recruiting freshman.
“I am most proud of getting freshmen interested,” Thompson said. “I am just trying to reciprocate. The senior guys got me really interested when I was a freshman, and I want to get other people into it.”
The BSU has no membership requirements because Thompson and the other leaders want all black students to feel involved and welcome with the BSU.
“Come to meetings when you can and help out with things that you can,” Thompson said. “I don’t know how many members we have; we are open to everyone.”
“We are trying to get out there more,” Thompson said. “It’s hard to do a lot because of time commitments, though.”
Thompson said he deals with black history continually.
“During Black History Month it’s put out there more, but I deal with the history every day,”
he said.
Thompson said an important part of increasing campus diversity is the growing number of black students choosing the University for academics.
“Students of color are coming,” Thompson said. “There are more and more, but it is important to have many African-Americans here for education, not just athletics.”
As well as being busy with BSU activities, Thompson is a part of the National Association for Black Journalists. He said he makes a point to stay active with different events on campus and in the community. His advice to incoming students is to “be involved with campus. There is way more to campus life than just being a student,” Thompson said.
