Diversity Days begins Mon.
By Ryan Lewis
Staff Writer

Albion College Diversity Days is so popular that they are making a movie out of it.

The Atmosphere Diversity Group, a student organization dedicated to increasing ethnic and cultural diversity on campus, will be filming a short movie during Diversity Days 1995, and the campus plays the lead role.

Diversity Days was started two years ago by ADG. It serves not only to coordinate the efforts of many campus ethnic organizations, but also to involve the campus in a learning experience about the different cultures represented on Albion's campus, according to Liberty Kyser, Horton sophomore and ADG co-facilitator.

"[Diversity Days] is an on-going effort and I think it's positive in that it may make students aware of the diversities that already exist on campus [while it] encourages more." The ADG movie hopes to capture that diversity on tape.

Kyser expects the cameras to roll on Monday. ADG plans to videotape and compile random student and faculty interviews, to reflect the campus' diversity, over the course of the week.

"I think it's going to go really well," said Shannon Tomlinson, assistant director of multicultural affairs. "This year is going to [put] a lot of influence on campus group individuality."

"We've got a number of different things going on - from gospel music to a videotape of diversity."

This year's events include BSA's "Night of Culture," at 8 p.m. Monday in Bobbitt Visual Arts Center Auditorium.

"It is a night where African-American students can showcase their talent,and express their thoughts," said Chuntay Bluntson, Milwaukee, Wis., junior and member of BSA's committee to organize the event.

The BSA has hosted this event in the past - even before Diversity Days existed - and has shifted recently to a more performance-based activity.

"Night of Culture" consists of poetry reading (mostly African-American work), discussion, and singing. According to Bluntson, United Voices of Albion will be performing several songs at this event, also.

The Asian Awareness Group's discussion sessions at 4 and 7 p.m. on Wednesday involve cultural music and language comparisons, according to Tia King, Saginaw senior and AAG president.

"At the first session, we're [playing] music from various Asian countries and explaining what it means in terms of its cultural background and how it fits into that background." King also said they may play some Indian music if they can arrange a demonstration of the dances that accompany it.

"In the other session, we will be showing people how the [Asian] languages compare." For example, the discussion leaders from AAG will translate greetings in Korean and Japanese, and then discuss aspects in those cultures that have contributed to the differences in the phrases.

United Voices, 15 members strong, will perform at 5 p.m. Wednesday in Upper Baldwin.

Diversity Days' finale will be multiple showings of the video in Norris 101 and Baldwin throughout the day on Friday.

"Go enjoy it! Come in open-minded. It's good to come away from it having learned something [about other cultures]," Bluntson said.