What started as a "kitchen conversation", as coined by the facilitator, turned out to be a very informative Diversity Forum Session at the SSVO's Den Bosch on Thursday, the 3rd of September 2015.The staff of the Centre for Student Counselling and Development (CSCD) has initiated courageous dialogues in an attempt to understand the current student context regarding issues of language and the role that the centre should play to ensure that diversity is promoted.
The Diversity Forum's mandate is to create a platform for all CSCD staff members to critically and openly engage in discussions regarding diversity subjects like social classes, sexual orientation, gender, language, religion, disabilities and many others that continue to affect, influence and involve us and our clients. The current climate at our university, prompted by the video "Luister", necessitated a conversation about the role that should be played by CSCD on issues of transformation and diversity. Greg Ricks facilitated the conversation and used the metaphor of having to remove a splinter out of the foot of a child, to explain the current dynamics on campus. Students are voicing their opinions on the slow process of transformation at Stellenbosch University (SU) in a variety of ways – dialogue on social media, marching and protesting in the streets and engaging with a variety of role players. This can be experienced as painful by some individuals, but it is part of the process "to get the splinter out". In his address to student leaders, Prof de Villiers (Rector of SU) called on everyone not to be alarmed by restlessness on campus "…because South Africa is still a society in transition and the legacy of the past lingers." He implored everyone to facilitate critical thinking by going beyond our borders, out of our comfort zones, exposing ourselves to other perspectives and "move beyond superficial stereotypes". The conversation we had at Den Bosch, as a CSCD community, marks the beginning of our attempt to expose ourselves to other perspectives and metaphorically remove the splinter, as uncomfortable as it may be.
Our vision is to focus on student wellness and create hope for all. We intend to have regular conversations as staff members, about matters that relate to us creating a welcoming environment at our centre and making sure that our services are accessible to all students of Stellenbosch University. This remains an ongoing conversation as it is vital that we understand our student clients. It became clear from the discussion that it is not easy to engage in conversations regarding diversity and transformation issues, as it is an emotive topic. However, although we might not have all the answers, we need to heed the call of the video clip and start to really "luister" to one another. If our end goal is being a world class university that produces world class graduates, we must be willing to take on these challenges and not shy away from them. The rector's remark "Diversity is an absolute requirement for excellence" is a statement the Diversity Forum proposes to operate by while continuing to create a safe space for staff members to discuss matters that influence and involve us. More of these healthy debates will be held during the course of the last term.
Photographer: Henry Africa
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