By Stephanie Vastine

A lack of diversity in the guest list forced Dan Cordova, assistant director of the Multicultural Center, to prematurely close registration for the Nov. 16 University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) Diversity Dinner Dialogues.

“We had to close the registration, because eighty percent of the registered students were Asian,” Cordova said.

The poor attendance by local students raised concerns about the amount of support there was at UTD for cross-cultural events like the dinner.

“There’s quite a bit of cross diversity but it could be better. We are still segmented in our own groups; racial groups are the main divide, but also I see people split up by major and classification, it could be a combination,” said biology freshman Godswill Ugwa.

Ugwa participated in the dinner with many other students faculty; an event created by Cordova to promote dialogue between different ethnic and racial groups at UTD.

Diversity, defined by vice-president in the Office of Diversity and Community Engagement Magaly Spector, is differences including, but not limited to: race, ethnicity, and gender.

While UTD enrolls a diverse makeup of students compared to other campuses, fostering diversity among students poses a unique challenge to both international and local students.

“I see a lack of communication between the local students and the international students. We can try to create a bridge if we get to know each other better. I think it’s about miscommunication, not only with locals but with other international students as well,” said graduate student Shakil Mohammed, another dinner attendee.

According to Cordova, the dinner was meant to help bridge the diversity gap at UTD.

Spector said the event gave students a safe environment to talk about controversial topics such as ethnicity and race. However, the lack of contribution from local students at the event was seen by Cordova as a deterrent to gaining greater social diversity on campus.

“It doesn’t seem like there is a diversity issue here, and everything looks fine, but there is another level. People need to be progressive in taking it a step further,” Cordova said.

There are many reasons for the separation of students from one another; Spector suggested politics might be one.

“Following affirmative action, there was a misconception that minorities may have preference in jobs and education. People may think that minorities are less capable because they got a free ride,” Spector said.

Mohammed saw a different cause behind the cultural divide.

“It’s an inferiority complex in both parties; we cannot go easily talk with other people. In order to melt down relations between diverse groups, both parties have to be open-minded and not be afraid to make the first move to be friendly with one another,” Mohammed said.

To aid in making UTD more diverse, multicultural organizations on campus have open meetings that anyone may attend.

“I appreciate they are allowing outsiders to go to the groups. They allow me to see a culture I was ignorant about, and people in the meetings take time to educate me about what they are about,” said Ugwa.

Some of the groups and organizations at UTD include the Jewish Student Alliance, Middle Eastern Student Association, Black Student Alliance, Bangladesh Student Organization, Indian Student Association and Chinese Student Association.

Cordova said he thinks diversity is about communication across cultures and races, communication can help students grow as individuals and gain perspective about people they would not encounter in their own societies. Diversity can also be an important tool for students after graduation.

“Perspective of a global society is a necessity for students who graduate in this society so that they can address customer needs and manage people from different cultures. If this does not happen, graduates will not be competitive in their careers,” Cordova said.