Why Students from All Over Flock to Diversity Club
Diversity Club has rapidly grown in popularity since it was first established in 2007. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look into the popularity behind the club.
Diversity Club is, without a doubt, one of the most popular clubs in the Upper Division. With over 127 members, the club meets every Friday during lunch to discuss a variety of current topics and global issues, ranging from race to gender to religious differences and even sexual orientation. But what fascinates people the most about Diversity Club? Why do so many people join? The Fanfare sat down with three members of the club to answer these questions: Kayla McLoone ‘20, Shaila Ghanekar ‘17 and club sponsor Christine Ortega Gaurkee.
Kayla McLoone, a freshman who recently joined, took a moment before answering. “It [Diversity Club] seemed like a really cool way to meet people, because I’m new to Berkeley, and I don’t know, I just like to gain insight on different perspectives in life,” said McLoone.
GAME PLAN: The Diversity Programming Team holds its first annual retreat. Many clubs hold annual retreats to plan for the year ahead. For the Diversity Club, a retreat like this is key to bring a group of 127 members together.
McLoone’s admiration on the club’s varying perspectives was shared by Shaila Ghanekar, a senior who joined the club her freshman year. “I first joined Diversity Club because all my friends joined,” Ghanekar said with a laugh, “and then I really started to get into all the issues that they were talking about, and it was really interesting to see everyone else’s perspective. That’s why I really started loving it.”
Upper Division faculty member and club sponsor Christine Ortega Gaurkee had her own thoughts about what she thought made Diversity Club so appealing. “I think it’s really because students have an opportunity to say what they think and talk about each other’s thoughts and opinions. All perspectives are completely welcome, any time. It’s also completely student-led, so there’s not a teacher in front of the room, telling them what to think or what to remember.”
TEAMWORK: The Diversity Programming Team works together to solve an escape room. Pictured above is Tristan Facenda-Kerswill ’17, Peter Tanner ’19, Mikae Provine ’19, Alexa Rudolph ’17, Shaila Ghanekar ’17, Bella Diaco ’18, Dylan Davis ’18, Dylan Davis ’18 and Theo Vasiloudes ’17. The escape room has recently taken off as a way for teams and organizations to learn to work together in high stress situations.
Several members of the club expressed their belief that the club, while extremely attractive and enthralling, also promotes Berkeley’s message of making a positive difference on the world. “It [Diversity Club] definitely makes a positive difference on the world!” said Ghanekar, “The goal of the diversity club is to educate the community on how to be more culturally aware and be more culturally accepting. I mean, these are the kinds of issues that are plaguing our world, what with everything that’s going on, and we’re making an effort to educate our community on how to separate prejudices from fact.”
For those interested in joining such an interesting club, consider stopping by room 251 on Friday during lunch. There, you’ll find a family of 127 students ready to change the world with you.
DON’T JUST SIT THERE: A Diversity Club meeting takes places in U253 where heated discussion goes back and forth regarding different topics about diversity like race, gender and sexuality. Recent topics of discussion have included the Black Lives Matter movement, socioeconomic status and and the Hispanic community.
Mara is a senior, writing on The Fanfare for the fourth year in a row. In addition to being a Co-Editor in Chief for the newspaper, Mara is also a Writing...
Jennifer Luo • Oct 17, 2016 at 8:05 pm
Loved this article!
Ben • Oct 30, 2016 at 6:15 pm
Wow! I loved this article too! However, the author boasts the 127 members very often, but many of the pictures represent a mere nine people. So, is this club exclusive only to the few? If so, does this not contradict the club’s original goal (bringing a diverse group of people together)? Does the club not have the 127 members that the article so proudly describes? Because of this were true, then the evidence supporting the claim that students from all over flock to diversity club would be inexistent.
emma edmund • Nov 1, 2016 at 10:02 pm
Hello!
Thank you so much for your comment– we really appreciate the feedback! As to your question– no, the club is not exclusive to the only few. Not all 127 members of the club were available for a picture, so instead this article features pictures from the Diversity Programming Team meeting, which is a group of several members of the Diversity Club who help plan the meetings and diversity-related activities around the school. By visiting one of the Diversity Club meetings, you can see the sheer number of people this club attracts. If you check out The 2015-20116 Buccaneer, the club roster from the 2015-2016 school year can show you the number of people this club has attracted and continues to attract. Hope this info helps you learn a little more about this awesome club!