Funding available for activities promoting diversity

by Carmen George | February 4, 2010 | Montana Kaimin

When many of Meryl Barlow’s professors addressed minority and racism issues in her classes, the discussions didn’t include issues facing American Indians.

Barlow, a member of California’s Paiute tribe and a University of Montana senior, was surprised to find that most students she’s met at UM don’t know much about American Indians, even though they are the largest minority group in Montana. She’s working to change that.

Barlow received a $1,000 grant from UM’s Diversity Advisory Council last year to help fund free monthly dinners featuring speakers that address American Indian issues. The next one is scheduled for today at 6 p.m. in UC Room 330. The dinners are organized by LISTEN, a student group Barlow help start last year to facilitate dialogue and raise awareness of American Indian issues among students. Between 60 and 100 people have attended the last three dinners the group hosted, Barlow said.

The next deadline for grant applications is Feb. 26 for students interested in organizing campus activities that promote and enrich diversity at UM.

Mary Groom-Hall, a UM Diversity Council member who helps review the diversity grant applications, said the council will likely award $2,000 to $3,000. Individual grants range from $250 to $1,000, she said.

“I think students often learn more from each other than they do in the classroom,” Groom-Hall said. “It’s students influencing students, and I think that component is really important.”

Partial funding in the past has been awarded to support campus events like a Middle East peace panel, a Persian New Year celebration, the Kyi-Yo Powwow and the International Culture and Food Festival.

Applicants are typically more open-minded and adventurous than many of their peers, Groom-Hall said. They’re students who “see the advantage of being open and going through an experience without prejudging it.”

Groom-Hall said people are often polarized by their disagreements and inability to communicate with each other. She hopes these grants will help promote dialogue between people of all different groups.

Danielle Wozniak, LISTEN adviser and UM assistant professor of social work, hopes LISTEN helps American Indian students feel more at home at UM by promoting dialogue between native and non-native students on campus.

“Racism and discrimination exists in that silence,” Wozniak said.

More information about applying for UM’s Diversity Advisory Council grants is available at life.umt.edu/diversity/minigrant.php, or through Groom-Hall at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). More information about LISTEN is available through Barlow at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or Wozniak at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

This story has been viewed 157 times.