After the racially tinged events of the past year, many students and faculty fretted over the state of race relations at the University and said they wished there was some way to organize a lasting dialogue between people of different races.
Unbeknownst to many of them, a group that predates last year's racially-charged incidents, which included a fraternity blackface incident and an alleged assault on Student Council President Daisy Lundy, was trying to ensure that their wishes were not in vain.
Sustained Dialogue was formed in the fall of 2001 as a means to get students from diverse backgrounds to talk about race.
The group held its annual introductory retreat yesterday in Newcomb Hall, drawing nearly 100 students. Members who were present said they were optimistic about the group's future.
"We have definitely seen increased interest," said Priya Parker, Sustained Dialogue chair and a co-founder of the group. "A lot of people were calling for increased dialogue."
Since its founding, Sustained Dialogue has expanded both its size and presence on Grounds. The group has gone from 30 members in its first year to 80 last year to an anticipated 150 this year. Sustained Dialogue was honored at Council's first annual CIO awards banquet last year.
"We're becoming more prominent on campus," said Sustained Dialogue co-chair Samar Katnani.
At the beginning of each school year, members of Sustained Dialogue are divided into groups of 10-12 students, including two student moderators who are trained to facilitate discussion.
Throughout the year, each group meets once every two weeks for two hours to discuss race at the University.
Parker said initial discussions usually focus on personal experiences, but later meetings attempt to determine how these experiences fit into larger problems related to race at the University and to find solutions to these sorts of problems.
These discussions -- not advocacy for or against particular proposals such as a proposed diversity initiative University -- are the basis for Sustained Dialogue.
"Our whole existence is dialogue," Parker said. "We don't take stands on issues."
Though racial incidents in recent years perhaps have contributed to Sustained Dialogue's rise to prominence, members said they were motivated to join by events in their own lives.
"Everybody is personally motivated by different experiences," Katnani said. "September 11 is what got me involved in Sustained Dialogue."
Yesterday's retreat, which featured a speech by Harold Saunders, was designed to explain the organization to new members in anticipation of the start of group meetings. Saunders served as the undersecretary of state during the Carter administration and helped negotiate the Camp David Peace Accords. He also helped develop the concept of Sustained Dialogue.
One such newcomer to the organization, fourth-year College student Shermelle Biffle, supported Katnani's assessment that most students join for personal reasons.
She said she encountered issues related to race this summer and that this experience spurred her interest in Sustained Dialogue.
"I was amazed at how difficult it was to talk about race," Biffle said. "Race is something I should feel comfortable talking about not just with black people but with everyone."
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