War veterans of all degrees and students and faculty members in the Keene community talked together at Keene State College’s first Diversity Discussion Nov. 10, concerning veterans on campus. The talk marked the first discussion in a series of collaborations to address diverse groups at KSC.
According to Dottie Morris, the Chief Officer Diversity/Multiculturism, the discussions, originally called Difficult Dialogues, have been a long-standing tradition at KSC.
“What I would like to do is to kind of develop a culture on campus where we’re talking about these topics all the time,” Morris said.
Morris said she had various discussions lined up for the entire school year, with topics ranging from family diversity, transgenderism, disability services at KSC and feminism.
Morris also said a lot of topics originated from eavesdropping on campus. Conversely, other ideas, she said, were suggested to her by students or faculty members from things they’ve heard or noticed.
“I hope it’s complimenting what people are learning in classes. It’s not meant to just be a lecture,” Morris said.
Morris said all but one of the discussions will be led by people from the Keene area.
These facilitators will bring notes and personal experiences to the discussion, but their main goal is to get the people at the get-together talking.
Additionally, if discussion leaders are also members of the KSC community, that can help keep the conversations going after the talks end.
“I want us to be able to do that with each other and to develop a culture of dialogue, a culture of feeling like we can talk about just about anything, realizing that we respect each other,” Morris said.
Another purpose of the discussions is for members of the KSC community to feel they can not only talk openly with each other, but, like Morris said, be able to tell someone how what someone said made them feel and what impact someone else’s input had on them.
“I’m hoping that people will say that it’s created a situation where they feel more connected to each other. Where there’s kind of a hunger and thirst for more and a desire to see more than just this environment,” Morris said.
Mike Ward, administrative assistant for the L.P. Young Student Center and Kent Drake-Deese, the Director of Residential Life on campus, both of which are war veterans, led the first discussion about the veterans on campus.
The event began with participants introducing themselves, stating any military background they have or a family member connected to the services. The discussion progressed to what college life was like for military veterans in the past and how it is similar or different for them today. The discussion leaders also shared viewpoints throughout the discussion they gathered from unnamed veterans who are going back to school.
Some of them showed some veterans are open and willing to talk about their experiences, some need to be asked before they talk about it and others just wanted to stay away from the topic.
Most of the military veterans at the talk agreed and said they just want to be treated equally and do not want to be singled out for their affiliation with the military.
Also, some of the veterans said they felt they are less tolerant of people who are disrespectful towards them.
The focal point of the discussion was that military veterans are normal people who want to be treated justly as any other student. Kent Drake-Deese hopes Keene can be more understanding and open to its military veterans.
“Hopefully just the recognition of the service and a kind of understanding where they are coming from the background of their experience, particularly for the young veterans,” Drake-Deese said.
He said he also hopes KSC will show veterans plenty of support in their return to school.
“That the people here know what they’ve been through to some degree and that they see us as an ally and that we are available and if they have issues that they may feel more comfortable because some of us have been through that,” Drake-Deese said.
Mary McEntee is the Community Service Coordinator and one of many who attended the first diversity discussion.
“I really like the topic of this discussion. I thought it was really informative to hear about and I think it was a very inclusive and positive discussion. I think the audience felt comfortable participating in the discussion even if they did not have a personal military background,” McEntee said.
Sharon Meany, administrative assistant at the Science Center said, “I thought it was a very good session and Mike Ward really had done his homework having that list about Veterans’ thoughts about the campus and classes here. They matched similar thoughts I heard from returning vets in the mid-70’s ( Vietnam).”
Meany also said non-traditional students (including veterans) can consider her a good go-to person if they have a question they need answered.
Lindsey Arceci can be contacted at larceci@keeneequinox.com.
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