A crowd of nearly 100 people filled the Great Hall in the Memorial Union on Friday, in spite of blowing snow and cold temperatures, to listen to a lecture intended to eliminate stereotypes and encourage the audience to learn more about diversity at Iowa State.

A panel of three speakers in a lecture titled, “CRASH into Reality: An Intersection of Race, Adaptation and Achievement,” turned into only one speaker, Jacqueline Pryor, graduate student in educational leadership and policy studies, because of illness and weather conditions.

Pryor began the session by discussing the 2005 movie “Crash,” which includes many well-known actors who, in the movie, challenge stereotypes and offer alternative views that contrast with the norms of today’s society. After discussing the characters, she explained what it is like to be Latino in America, in an effort to reduce the stereotype believed by many people.

“Latinos are composed of persons from 22 different countries in the Western Hemisphere; very close to us,” Pryor said.

“I think the majority of the Latino group is what we view as Mexican-American. Sometimes, in hearing everyone speaks Spanish, we make the assumption that they are from Mexico. Well, they could [actually] be from one of the other 21 countries in Latin America.”

Pryor also spoke about the generalizations many of us carry, including stereotypical careers for the Latino population. She encouraged ideas from the audience and received answers such as housekeeper, cook, mechanic and general laborer.

“We are comfortable viewing Latinos [in these jobs], but how many people have thought that we may have a Latino president of the United States?” she asked. “A Latino president of the United States may open up many doors. We seem to have a discomfort when we look at Latinos in a different light, as maybe professors or instructors.”

Pryor told the story of a doctoral student in the psychology department who taught entry-level classes as part of her studies. Any time she challenged her students to be responsible, they would complain and even bring up her ethnicity and ask if she was qualified to be teaching the course.

“Challenge your mind if you haven’t already done so,” Pryor said. “It’s possible for Latinos to be in leadership roles and to do it very well.”

Pryor also spoke on the black population in the United States. According to the 2000 census, the concentration of blacks is concentrated to the southeastern portion of the United States, as well as California and parts of Nevada.

“When I saw the movie ‘Crash,’ as it concerns to African-Americans, I saw three socioeconomic groups in the movie,” Pryor said.

The first group was the lower-working class, the second was the middle-class and thirdly, the upper-affluent class, she said. In the movie, there was a character who related to each of these classes: a carjacker, a detective and a producer.

“Society is schools. When we think of schools – education, higher-education – we have a habit of focusing on people we want to groom from college,” Pryor said.

“They show promise, they’re articulate, they can talk well. These students are often selected [based] on their socioeconomic status.”

After discussion on different races and ways to bridge the gap between them, Pryor encouraged the audience to share their “Crash” experiences: how they felt about the movie and how they could relate to it.

Jeanne Warning, families specialist for family and consumer sciences extension, attended the lecture for an opportunity for development and to learn more about multiculturalism and diversity.

“I thought it was interesting [and] informative to hear some perspectives and get a bit of historical background,” Warning said. “I’d seen the movie but it makes me want to go back and see the movie again because I think there is a lot more in there that I didn’t pick up the first time.”

As for the discussion, Warning said she thought it was informative and was glad she attended.

“I really appreciated hearing the different perspectives and being a part of the discussion,” Warning said.