As a Nazarene university, we believe it is our Christian responsibility to be an institution that not only advertises or talks about diversity and welcoming ethnic students, but demonstrates our beliefs by intentionally creating programs and processes consistent with this belief. I have the luxury of working at the same university from which I graduated. When I became a student at MidAmerica Nazarene University in 1978, very little ethnic or racial diversity existed. Sometimes I was ostracized, alienated, avoided, and didn’t feel welcome because I was a minority. However, I can recount times when students, professors, and staff members intentionally reached out to me to make me feel like I belonged at MNU. Had not these persons reached out to me, I am confident that I would have left. However, I’m glad I stayed. Today, I am a professor of Education and appointed by President Ed Robinson to serve as Director of Multicultural Affairs.

My goals for this article are to unfold the principles of accommodation and assimilation, offer suggestions on how we can create a welcoming environment on Nazarene campuses, and give a few examples of what we are doing to help make MNU welcoming for students of diverse people groups.

Accommodation or Assimilation?

If ethnic students are going to genuinely feel welcome on a Nazarene campus, there must be a fundamental paradigm shift in the campus culture. The goal should be to create an environment of accommodation. Accommodation embraces the philosophy that there must be adjustments and adaptations made to our current campus culture (Culture is defined as: “The way we do things here”) in order to meet the needs (accommodate) of everyone who is now a member of the campus. As a result of embracing and respecting our diversity, accommodation can now be manifested at the university by a cultural shift.

Accommodation is not only about making space for new people, ideas, or cultures. It is also about becoming something new that neither the prior (dominant) culture/group nor the new (minority) culture/group was previously. When asked to share his thoughts on accommodation, President Robinson explains, “In this way there is sort of an adventure of discovering what kind of new community of ‘unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace’ we are becoming that is different than either was before. It is more than making room for others or (as it is often misunderstood) compromising so that we can all get along. It is about an adventure of becoming something new together . . . something like the first-century Christians discovered in attempting to find the unity among Jewish and Gentile Christians.”

Assimilation is defined by several scholars as becoming completely identified with the dominant or new culture, a cultural conversion to a new society/cultural group or complete transformation so that there no longer remains any distinction between the minority and the new cultural orientation. Assimilation is essentially about minorities changing to fit in, without expecting the dominant culture to make any changes. Most contexts of assimilation are not sinister or intentionally dominant; it is just business as usual or institutionalization (“It’s always been done this way”). On most college campuses, individuals of the dominant culture expect ethnic students to conform, embody, amalgamate, and identify with the traditions, beliefs, language, and customs of the dominant culture, often resulting in the abandonment of their cultural norms.

Intentional Inclusion

During President Ed Robinson’s inauguration chapel sermon on August 30, 2005, he asked students from different demographic areas (i.e. suburban, urban, international, and rural) to stand separately. After they were standing, he said, “I am blessed to be in a community where we all benefit from the richness of a tapestry of differences as we live toward the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace!”

Following the chapel service, I asked students in my class what his words meant to them. One student’s response was, “He made me feel like I am a part of the campus even though I am different.” Another student said, “It means to me that unity does not mean uniformity.” Although these two students did not speak for the entire population of ethnic students, it was refreshing to hear their insightful comments.

In order to create an environment that welcomes all students, Nazarene campuses must work to develop intentional inclusion. I constructed this term to help answer the question, “What can we do to make our ethnic students feel welcome on our campuses?” I hope we recognize that we must intentionally reach out to ethnic students, including international students, to help all of them feel welcome, valued, and a vital part of campus.

To intentionally include ethic students we have to be willing to initiate meaningful conversations with them in the dorms, cafeteria, classrooms, and other places on campus. In one of my classes, a Caucasian student asked during a class discussion, “Why do the African-American students sit together in the cafeteria?” I referred his question to the only African-American student in my class. That student said ethnic students feel more comfortable sitting with students who look familiar when they are in a majority white environment. Then, I asked all of my students how many of them intentionally sit with students of a different ethnicity in the cafeteria. None of the Caucasian students stated they sat at tables with ethnic students. I encouraged them to join students from different ethnicities in the cafeteria. In this relaxed setting, they could become friends and be more welcoming.

Diversity Education and Dialogue

It is imperative to conduct diversity education workshops and hold conversations with staff members, faculty members, and individuals in student development, residential life, and student government to discuss how to effectively communicate cross-culturally and relate to ethnic students. These workshops can provide opportunities for dialogue and an increased understanding of positive strategies and approaches to help ethnic students feel welcome.

It is also essential to collect data from representative samples of the entire student population through surveys, interviews, focus meetings, and face-to-face conversations. Ethnic students should be surveyed and invited to participate in focus groups where their ideas and suggestions can be ascertained to gain insight on better ways to help them feel welcome and a valuable part of the campus. I recommend asking ethnic students questions such as, “Do you feel welcome at MNU? What can we do to make you feel like you are an integral part of MNU? Have you ever experienced racism or prejudice at MNU? Would you recommend MNU to your friends and family members?”

Conclusion

Consequently, if we want students of all people groups to feel welcome at Nazarene universities, the faculty, staff, and administration must engage in the process of changing from predominantly white Christian institutions to universities that enthusiastically welcome students from diverse backgrounds. Our emphasis should be on creating and maintaining a culture that promotes accommodation. Activities that promote effective cross-cultural communication and reconciliation should be offered. However, this powerful change of valuing and respecting differences and welcoming ethnic students will not be achieved without Christ-like love, intentionality, and visible support by the institutions’ highest leadership, chiefly the president.

by Anthony Moore
Associate professor of Education
MidAmerica Nazarene University