Campus organizations came together to promote ethnic, gender, cultural and religious studies Wednesday evening at the Reitz Union Grand Ballroom.
Eight campus organizations took part in “What’s Your Story? Exploring Ethnic, Gender, Cultural, and Religious Studies at UF” at 5:30 p.m., which featured a tabling fair and panel of professors to discuss their cultural specialities.
Hosts included UF’s Arab Student’s Association, Asian American Student Union, Pride Student Union, Hispanic Student Association, Intercultural Engagement, Interfaith Ambassadors, Savant Leadership Honorary and Student Government Multicultural Affairs.
“Ethnic, cultural and religious events are important to UF’s past, present and future,” said Narayan Kulkarni, AASU’s external vice president and the event’s primary organizer. “Students should study them in order to become empowered leaders for the future.”
The 20-year-old UF biology junior said the event was the first of its kind since 2004, when professors hosted a panel after the new Asian-American Studies program caused backlash. Initially, he wanted to organize an event exclusively about the Asian-American Studies minor, but he said he thought it was important to expand it to other cultural majors and minors.
The event not only revisited the topic of diversity but also tied in UF’s new age rise to preeminence, he said.
For him, the most important aspect of the event was the professor panel.
“When you humanize an experience, that’s the most powerful thing,” Kulkarni said. “It connects you to an audience more than reading in a book.”
Members of the panel shared their personal experiences and gave insight into the importance of understanding different cultures and people.
The panel featured Robin Wright, an indigenous religion and anthropology professor; Leonardo Villalón, a professor of political science and African studies; Trysh Travis, an undergraduate coordinator for the Center for Women’s Studies and Gender Research; and Philip Williams, the director of the Center for Latin American Studies.
“To be a citizen of this nation and this world, you have the responsibility to know the differences and similarities between individual to individual and country to country,” Travis said.
Exploratory behavioral science freshman Laura Palacio said she was engaged in the panel’s topics and stories.
“I found this stuff interesting, and I’m thinking about becoming an anthropology major,” said Palacio, 18. “I like to see how different other people’s lives are because of their cultures.”
[A version of this story ran on page 5 on 1/8/2015 under the headline "Student organizations promote diversity through event in Reitz Union Wednesday"]
From left: Professors Robin Wright, Leonardo Villalon, Trysh Travis and Philip Williams speak during a panel at the “What’s Your Story? Exploring Ethnic, Gender, Cultural, and Religious Studies at UF” event in the Reitz Union Grand Ballroom on Wednesday night. The event was designed to discuss opportunities for ethnic, gender, cultural and religious studies at UF and the importance of the related classes at UF.
