McKelvy House Scholars Will Host Dinner Discussion of “Stereotypes and Diversity at Lafayette” Sunday

The McKelvy House Scholars invite the campus to join their dinner discussion of “Stereotypes and Diversity at Lafayette” 6 p.m. Sunday.

The meal will begin 6 p.m. at McKelvy House, 200 High Street. Vijay Krishnan ’07 (Karnataka, India), a double major in international affairs and economics & business, will lead the discussion at 6:30 p.m.

The first part of the discussion will address stereotypes, answering these questions:

1. What are stereotypes?
2. How do they originate?
3. What kind of stereotypes and niches can we talk about at Lafayette?
4. How are people forced to conform to these stereotypes once they are pigeonholed into a group?

“I want specific conclusions, like what are the features we expect of, say, a typical [international] student or an engineer or someone who lives on the Wellness Floor or even a ‘frat boy’,” says Krishnan. “This is an attempt to get at the core of how we think.”

The second part of the discussion will address diversity at Lafayette, covering questions such as:

1. Do you think there is a problem with diversity at Lafayette? What do you think is the problem?
2. How are we contributing to this problem?
3. Is there any practical solution to this? What is it?

Since 1962, the McKelvy House Scholars program has brought together Lafayette students with a wide range of majors and interests to reside in a historic off-campus house and share in intellectual and social activities. Weekly Sunday and occasional Wednesday dinner discussions that engage the students in debate and exchange of ideas are the hallmark of the program. Most members also contribute to the annual McKelvy Papers, written on a topic of each person’s choice. McKelvy Scholars participate in activities together such as field trips to plays, concerts, and exhibits, and sponsor events for the campus as well.

Previous discussions:
Feb. 5 – Reading as a Virtue
Jan. 29 — Sexuality
Nov. 20 — Value of Performing Arts
Nov. 13 – Blogging
Nov. 9 – Neoconservatism
Oct. 30 – Christian Right
Oct. 26 – Social Groups
Oct. 23 – The Shape of Things
Oct. 19 – Women in Creating and Sustaining Peace
Oct. 16 – “Slow Food” Movement
Oct. 12 – Hugo Chavez
Oct. 9 – Molecular Nanotechnology
Oct. 5 – Folk Music as Vehicle for Social Change
Sept. 25 – Freedom and Other Remembrance Issues
Sept. 20 – The Powerful Thrust of Language on Civic Arousal
Sept. 14 – Apathy
Sept. 11 – Why Do We Care about One Another?