'Conversations That Matter' hosts discussion on changing family roles
The final installment of the three-part "Conversations That Matter" series took place Feb. 6 in the Central Michigan University Bovee University Center Rotunda Room, and attendees discussed changing family roles, dynamics and expectations.
Students and faculty enjoyed a university-catered dinner and took part in group discussions led by student facilitators.
Attendees were asked to discus three questions about personal experiences with family configurations and how cultural, ethnic, religious, racial and stylistic differences impact people’s views on what family is.
“We are not trying to have a debate, we are not trying to prove a particular thing, we are trying to share and learn from each other,” said Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer A.T. Miller. “This is a very expansive topic with many possibilities.”
Miller had a slide show with the prompt questions written on the screen, flipping through them to set the pace of the conversation. Miller also participated and engaged in the group conversation at a table of students and faculty.
“A lot of the conversation was about what family is,” said Port Huron senior Mateo Savedra. “We found that the foundation of family is love and that all the other stuff does not matter as much. Nobody in my group was afraid and everyone was opened to share what they want. We had real genuine answers.”
To conclude the two-hour event, groups were asked to reflect on their conversation and share one take-away from the evening. Many groups spoke up about discussion of same-sex marriages and the importance of acceptance.
“Anybody that loves you and excepts you for who you are can be your family,” said Kenya senior Halima Abdi.
Director of Diversity Education Stephanie Cureg said believes the topics discussed addressed "the core of our being."
“The event was a success,” Cureg said. “My table was really moved by culture.”
Lansing graduate student Beth Boman enjoyed the event and said it was good to be able to open up about personal experiences and feel comfortable.
“What I found was that every individual had their own unique lens of what family is,” said Stan Shingles, assistant vice president of University Recreations. “I appreciated the respect and understand of what people communicated.”
