“Did you ever think how someone in a wheelchair can get into Brandies? Or how socio-economics play a role in academic skills?”
These along with other topics were discussed and reflected upon on Saturday by several students at Breaking Stereotypes: Stop. Rewind. Reeducate. These two questions in particular Nursing sophomore Lucia Rodriguez reflected upon.
Breaking Stereotypes: Stop. Rewind. Reeducate. was held in the Harper Center Ballroom Saturday from 10:00a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The day was full of keynote speakers and breakout presentations that assisted students in learning about cultural, religious, gender, and sexual orientation stereotypes.
The sisters of the Tau Delta Chapter of Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority, Inc., of which Rodriguez is a member, mainly hosted this event. Holding this specific conference was the idea of Kayleigh Shultz, the vice president of Program Development for Sigma Lambda Gamma.
“We [the Tau Delta Chapter of Sigma Lambda Gamma] celebrate culture, emphasize the importance of education, and uphold the Sorority principles [academics, community service, cultural awareness, social interactions and morals and ethics] in our daily lives. We also share our Sorority principles and values with the Creighton and Omaha communities through our programming and community service efforts,” Shultz said.
The conference opened with welcoming remarks from Shultz, Nayley Padilla, the president of Sigma Lambda Gamma and Tanya Winegard, the associate vice president of Equity and Inclusion at Creighton University. Michaela Tallman, the Director of Lieben Center for Women, gave the opening keynote speech.
Students were then allowed to attend four breakout sessions of their choice in which they could learn about different stereotypes and how to break away from them. The breakout sessions included information about stereotypes of being Greek on Creighton’s campus, negative stereotypes of Jews, the disabled, the LGBT community, and the Latino community. There were also options to learn about African and Hawaiian culture.
The closing keynote address was given by Dr. Ngwarsungu Chiwengo, an English professor and the director of African and Black studies at Creighton.
“I encourage you throughout your four years to live, to laugh, and to cry with others on this campus besides your own,” she said in her closing address.
“I was challenged to do what I know I should, but don’t. That is not to stereotype people and have set categories because we are all people. But it is a challenge,” Arts and Sciences sophomore and attendee Laura Magaña said of the conference.
The Creighton Students’ Union, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Division of Student Life, and the Multicultural Advisory Council all helped to make this conference possible.