The Social Work Association for Cultural Awareness will hold an open discussion between students, faculty and community members who have opinions or questions about the culture of UA’s campus and the effect of the march held earlier this semester.
“Operation Not Isolated: The Conversation” will be held Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Tutwiler Hall Theater.
Adrienne McCollum, president of SWACA, said the purpose of the event is to continue to build on the foundation of Operation Not Isolated.
“We told those who participated in the march that we would not allow this to die down like many incidents in the past have and we want to stand by that,” McCollum said. “Not just because we said we would, but also because this is something we are passionate about, and this is what we believe is right.”
The organization needs to hear what students are saying and learn how they feel so they know which route to take in order to reach their goals, she said.
McCollum said the organization had heard of some students who are trying to make Operation Not Isolated a greek/non-greek or black/white issue.
“This is not about just those groups, but we would like to strongly encourage the greek organizations and persons of diverse backgrounds to join us in The Conversation and possibly the entire Operation Not Isolated movement,” she said. “Everyone who joins the discussion does not have to agree with our purpose, but hearing their thoughts and opinions would be beneficial because we believe that it’s important that we try to understand those who have different views and beliefs.”
From “Operation Not Isolated: The Conversation,” the organization hopes to gain more insight from students who have experienced being excluded or who have been targeted negatively by other students because of group membership.
“We want everyone to feel included, so we hope to see a variety of students at this event,” McCollum said. “We encourage all students, faculty, and staff to join us, ask questions and express their ideas about how to create a more harmonious campus here at The Capstone.”
