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Thursday night, about 245 people attended "Diversity: The New Tradition," the 7th Annual Diversity Symposium hosted by the Student Government Association Diversity Team, where panelists discussed the racial climate in the nation and on campus.
The panel consisted of Karamo Brown from MTV's "The Real World: Philadelphia," A&M Sociology Professor Joe Feagin, Paula McCann Harris, Class of 1987, and Guerrero.
"I'm going to be honest, I was kind of leery about coming to this campus after I heard about the blackface video, being an African American and gay," Brown said. "The Diversity Team really reached out to me to convince me to come here, and that's how it needs to happen - each student needs to speak out to make sure people off your campus know how you feel."
Harris, a petroleum engineering graduate, was often the only female, and even more frequently, the only black female in her classes in Zachry. She now recruits minority students to consider A&M as an academic option. As a student, she was a part of a change at the University that can still be seen today while driving in front of the Administration Building.
"When I got to A&M in 1982, they still flew the Confederate Flag in front of the Admin. Building," Harris said. "It took years, but we finally got them to stop flying it."
Racial diversity is not the only form of discrimination being combated at the University. Differences in sexual preferences, sexism, disability and socioeconomic issues are also areas of research.
"My research is interested in disability issues and gender issues," said Holly Hirsch, a graduate student in the Communication Department. "Race is not the only issue affected by diversity concerns."
To increase diversity awareness, the Faculty Senate and other campus organizations are exploring opportunities to use course curriculum to promote diversity. Beginning in the summer of 2007, all New Student Conferences will include a two-hour component on diversity training, Guerrero said.
"Diversity is what we absolutely need to achieve if we want any chance at reaching excellence," Guerrero said.
"Courage is an Aggie value," Feagin said. "Hate is not an Aggie value. If we continue to allow racism, sexism and homophobia, we will limp toward eventual collapse."
The assembled crowd broke out into applause several times during the symposium, but one audience member broke out in protest at one point during the discussion, interrupting Feagin's explanation that racism on an institutional level occurs only by white people.
"Sir, you're lying and I'm having a hard time listening to this," interjected Preston Wiginton. "I hate to see young minds get lied to."
Wiginton later said he was not a racist, but that he was a racial realist who believes that genetics and behavior make people different. About 20 students and community members approached Wiginton following the symposium to express their disapproval of his disruption.
"It's dramatically clear in my research that we still have widespread racism and discrimination in nearly every social institution, from the workplace to housing and education," said Feagin, ignoring the distraction. "We still have a long way to go."
This year was the largest audience noted by the SGA Diversity Team in the symposium's seven-year history. The team started planning for the event in early September, after being appointed by Student Body President Nic Taunton in the spring of 2006.
"We picked this theme because A&M is about traditions, and diversity needs to happen at the student level, with the student body making diversity an Aggie tradition," said Amethyst Black, the student advocate for SGA Diversity. "I can only hope it's going to get bigger, better, more profound and more prolific in the years to come."
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