First of all, we want to express our appreciation for having such an acclaimed and professional student-run newspaper as The Orion on campus. Not many universities can say the same, and few students realize the importance of having one. We also want to thank the staff for featuring an article about multicultural Greeks on the front page of last week's issue. Because of our small numbers, it is not a courtesy we see too often. Informing students about unfamiliar groups, events and activities is exactly what The Orion should set out to do, and we feel the newspaper's staff has accomplished this - to a certain extent.
With that said, it was unfortunate to have our pride overshadowed by the disappointment of several inaccuracies in the article, and we ask that they be corrected. Our sorority, Upsilon Kappa Delta, and the fraternity Epsilon Sigma Rho are not, nor have they ever been "Latina-" or "Latino-based," like the article stated. Our organizations were both founded on the principle of multiculturalism, and we see it as disrespectful to our founders to state otherwise. This is in no disrespect to those organizations such as Nu Alpha Kappa, Gamma Zeta Alpha and Lambda Theta Nu, which label themselves as such. This is for the sake of accuracy, which we are sure all multicultural Greeks will appreciate.
Inaccurate assumptions are not a problem we just see in The Orion, but in the campus as a whole. We believe exceptional care should be taken with information about minority groups. This applies to all minorities, regardless of the attribute, such as age, gender, race, religion or sexual orientation, which make individuals different.
The Orion, and similar institutions, has an authority that students tend to cling to blindly. So it has an obligation to take articles such as the one that appeared on the front page very seriously. We know that people make mistakes and that accidents happen, but people can't commit either of the two without paying a price. We hope that minimizing the number of misrepresentations becomes a goal for the The Orion staff and the rest of the campus, given that Chico State is moving forward from its emphasis on "sustainability" to one of "diversity."
In reference to the title of this commentary, assumptions are a terrible habit. If they turn out to be incorrect, the author and the subject can never be seen in the same light. Once a statement is uttered, or in this case read, that first impression can never be taken back, no matter how many retractions are issued. There is also no guarantee that the same people who read the article will ever read the corrections, which are located on the bottom left corner of A2 in a small 2-inch-by-3-inch frame titled "Corrections" - for those of you who were wondering.
Displaying true diversity is not about depicting racially representative pictures or publicizing cultural events. It is about educating the entire population on topics it normally would not worry about knowing, and this begins with accurate representations. After all, how can we embrace diversity if our differences are not accurately portrayed?
Lastly, this column is not simply a call to action for those promoting diversity, but to those absorbing it as well. To students, faculty and every other person reading this, take everything you see, read and hear with a grain of salt. Diversity is not simply the promotion of different cultures and ethnicities, but of different views, opinions and perspectives. Find the common denominator of them all and that is where you will find the most accurate information - not on the bottom of A2.
Brenda Figueroa and Savanaha Lamp can be reached at upsilonkappadelta@hotmail.com
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