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Calvin hosts intercultural presidential symposium
By Peter Ippel
Staff Writer
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Vice President Hoogstra closes presentations in prayer.
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Racism and diversity are two issues that have been heavily addressed on Calvin’s campus but many agree that we are not very far from where we started.
Other Christian colleges are addressing these issues as well. Two years ago the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) decided that they should hold an annual symposium to discuss the issues behind creating diverse, anti-racist campuses. This year’s event was hosted by Calvin.
Teams from 12 different Christian colleges and universities gathered last weekend at Calvin’s Prince Conference Center to discuss what each institution is and should be doing to address the obstacles that minorities face on many Christian campuses.
Each team was led by the president of its respective college or university and consisted of people from its faculty, staff and student body.
Carol Bremer-Bennett, a Calvin Board of Trustees member from New Mexico, was glad to see that the presidents are walking right alongside their institutions in furthering diversity.
The symposium began on Thursday evening and lasted through Saturday.
Each day consisted of speakers, small group sessions and group discussions. Calvin music ensembles assisted in worship and entertained the attendees throughout the symposium.
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President Duane Litfin of Wheaton College addresses Presentations and Plans for the Future.
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The groups that assisted include the Campus Choir, Capella, worship apprentices, Gospel Choir and African Acapella. African Acapella closed the entire event and made a lasting impression on everyone there.
According to David Tannor, a member of this ensemble, some of the colleges asked if African Acapella would be willing to sing at their schools.
While the music and worship were an important part of the symposium, the main focus was with the intercultural competence of Christian colleges.
Events included presentations by Calvin’s Anti-Racism Team on Calvin’s work in weeding out racism; Pete Menjares of Biola University, who discussed the topic of campus climate and how that affects minority students; Richard Slimbach of Azusa Pacific University on how community partners can help in this project; and each school on what they are currently doing to become more diverse and what they hope to do in the future. There were also two large group discussions about hiring and retention of faculty of color and recruitment and retention of students of color.
Keith Norman of Trinity International University was impressed with what the CCCU did in setting up this conference. He said that competent people put together this event.
Calvin student Megan Piersma was glad that students were asked to participate in the symposium. She said that it was important in things like the team breakout session where President Gaylen Byker asked the Calvin students to share their experiences at Calvin.
“Hearing stories was very painful,” she said. “[It was] very emotional to hear the differences between minority and majority students.”
Yet for Piersma it was good “to come to terms with the fact that we are trying hard but we still have so much more to do.”
Bremer-Bennett said that she was glad to see a “desire to move campuses forward in the issue of diversity.” She viewed the symposium as a sign that people were ready “to do this, not just talk about it.”
She also agreed that the Calvin team got a lot done. Bremer-Bennett said that the Calvin team has worked together very well and compared the process to a pace line in biking where the team members take turns leading while the others draft, giving them a break.
Byker said that it was a great opportunity to learn from one another and to get a sense of what is going on at other campuses.
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Hoogstra and Byker take in different views on racial issues.
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He said that it was good to see all of the presidents involved and giving the issue of diversity a high priority. Presidential support in this issue is important both in substance and symbolically.
Menjares agreed that “it is critical that our presidents and senior administration are leaders in this area. What this meeting did was bring together 12 presidents and their staff. [It is] basically saying [that] we want to be leaders in the nation for Christian higher education in this area.”
The colleges present varied greatly in where they were in becoming more competent.
According to Piersma, many other students were particularly interested in what Calvin is doing to fight racism.
Sylvia Lopez from Roberts Wesleyan University agreed and said that they “realized things we need to do at Roberts, things to establish and do better.”
Bremer-Bennett said, “I’m proud of where Calvin is at, but we are by no means there.” She continued that one thing that the Calvin team struggled with during the conference is where “there” is.
She said that “‘there’ could be very different than we had envisioned.”
According to Menjares, the only way to go is where God leads. He said that the most important concept, talked about in every discussion, was “the need to ground this issue in the bible and theology.”
He said, “This can’t be a political issue [and] it can’t be done for the wrong reasons, it has to be biblically based. We believe that it is and that this is being inspired by the Holy Spirit. This is what God is compelling us to do.”
While a lot of solutions were found at the symposium, Bob Andringa of the CCCU said that there are “no easy answers but there are answers.” He said on Saturday, “Today, we all know more than we did on Wednesday.” He pointed out that a lot of changes need to be made within people.
“We who are white need a lot of help,” Andringa said. “Even when our eyes are open, we often do not see.”
Byker, in his closing remarks, reminded the group that though the conference was helpful, “the real work is about to begin.”
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