Summit aims to make ISU more inclusive

Tim Paluch

ISU students and facilitators will meet this weekend in an attempt to develop a master plan making Iowa State more inclusive and open to change.About 50 students and faculty members will participate in the first annual Multicultural Leadership Summit, an action and strategy session held today and Saturday. Susana Rundquist, minority liaison officer with the College of Education, said the name of the summit, “Don’t Sleep Through the Revolution,” is derived from a passage from a Martin Luther King Jr. speech. Rundquist said the focus of the summit is to discuss diversity and multiculturalism.”We want students to feel empowered to make changes to better appreciate diversity on campus,” she said.The participants will work in cluster groups to get acquainted with one another from 5 to 8 tonight in the Maple Hall commons, Rundquist said.The group will meet from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at St. John’s by the Campus Episcopal Church, 2338 Lincoln Way, where they will begin to develop their individual, organization and campus goals.Jamie Washington will be the guest facilitator for the summit and will speak Saturday. Washington, assistant vice president for Student Affairs at the University of Maryland — Baltimore County, is a nationally known consultant in the areas of diversity, multiculturalism and organizational change, according to the Multicultural Summit Web site.Leticia Romo, member of the summit planning team, said the summit is a good opportunity for students to make a difference.”A lot of the time we keep hearing about problems, and nothing ever happens because all we do is talk, so hopefully from the summit we’ll get this plan of change, and actually start doing something,” said Romo, sophomore in pre-business.She said she hopes the summit will motivate students to understand different points of views and work together to create change at Iowa State.Romo and Rundquist said they think the effects of the summit can be far-reaching. “We want students to have an open mind, but see themselves as a part of the change,” Rundquist said.