Villanova class explores slowly emerging diversity

In this class, it's hard to see how Villanova University got the dubious nickname "Vanillanova," connoting its predominantly white, homogenous student body.

Classmates include a man of split Mexican/Puerto Rican heritage, a white lesbian, a second-generation Guyanese man, a woman with cerebral palsy in a wheelchair, and students from families of modest and affluent means.

On a recent evening they talked about their differences and their likenesses; how they've been discriminated against and how they've been part of a group that discriminated against others; when they've spoken up against oppression and when they fell regrettably silent.

The conversation was honest, civil, and thought-provoking. A lesbian student said her roommate texted everyone she knew after seeing her kissing a woman, then gathered friends and attempted "an intervention" to discourage the relationship.

A white student asked a black classmate why it's OK for blacks to use the N word and not whites.

Katherine Portelli, 19, is a sophomore from a traditional Italian family. Her brother, she told classmates, "really believes that women are inferior to men, and he tells people that." She has never challenged him, "and I honestly don't know if I'll ever get the courage to say anything."

But the multicultural leadership and dialogue class, professors hope, will help students find that courage and wisdom. The three-hour, Wednesday night class is taught by three communication professors, including Villanova's assistant vice president for multicultural affairs and a philosophy professor - all diversity specialists.

For the last few years, the sessions - based on a University of Michigan program called "intergroup dialogue" - was an extracurricular activity. This semester, it's a three-credit course incorporating theory, book work, and tests on subjects such as apartheid, affirmative action, race relations, and identity, with a separate one-credit dialogue session.

The goal is not to indoctrinate the 19 students in the class, but to create a setting where they can explore the issues, the professors said.

"Students may learn something from us, but mostly they learn from each other," said Terry Nance, multicultural affairs vice president.

Villanova president Peter M. Donohue sent a team to Michigan to learn about that school's program and infuse it into Villanova's curriculum.