Both students and visitors will discuss ideas for improving interaction and diversity on campus Friday.

The fifth annual Iowa State Conference on Race and Ethnicity, or ISCORE, begins at 8 a.m. Friday in the Memorial Union. The event will feature student presentations and keynote speaker Terrance Roberts, a member of the famous “Little Rock Nine” in 1957 Arkansas.

“[ISCORE] is modeled after the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education,” said Debra Sanborn, a conference co-chairwoman for ISCORE and program coordinator of the Dean of Students office. “It brings issues of race and ethnicity, which can sometimes be uncomfortable to talk about, to the forefront of community discussion.”

ISCORE was started at Iowa State during the 1998-1999 school year.

Thuy Tran, junior in sociology and a two-time participant of the conference, said ISCORE is an opportunity for students of different backgrounds to learn about one another.

In return for getting an all-expenses-paid trip to the national conference, past students have been asked to prepare presentations and deliver them at ISCORE, along with completing University Studies 290, a three-credit course about race and ethnicity.

In 2001, Iowa State sent 32 student delegates to the national conference, the most of any university. The national event draws nearly 2,000 people from all over the United States. Last year the conference was held in San Francisco; next year it will be held in Miami.

While the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education lends itself to large forums and nationally recognized speakers, ISCORE is geared more toward student participation. To take part in ISCORE, students can register online or with the Office of Minority Student Affairs. If accepted, the student is then asked to take part in a delegation of ISU students who attend the national conference

Sarai Arnold, junior in biology and president of the Black Student Alliance, said her presentation is an opportunity to address issues that are important to her. Arnold is using her time at ISCORE to promote Iowa State’s “Got Ignorance?” campaign, which was first held at last year’s Veishea.

“It’s interesting to me to learn that the experiences of such different minority groups can be so similar,” Arnold said.

Opening remarks will be given by Carli Tartakov, lecturer in curriculum and instruction. ISU President Gregory Geoffroy will speak at a noon luncheon.