A Celebration of Diversity at HPU

High Point University held an International Festival on Apr. 14, 2019. This is one of many successful efforts to emphasize diversity on campus.

Global Education

Global Education at High Point University upholds the mission of the University, that is to deliver educational experiences that enlighten, challenge, and prepare students to lead lives of significance in complex global communities.

There are many opportunities provided by the Global Education Department for students to study abroad, and immerse themselves in the culture of a different country. Studying abroad can give students a new global perspective that they haven't thought of before.

The Global Education Department also provides many other programs such as on campus activities like the International Festival. There are also clubs and organizations such as the Global Student Association, Global Education Mentors, and Phi Beta Delta.
The Phi Beta Delta website can be found here: Phi Beta Delta

For more information about High Point University's Global Education and events being held visit this link: Global Education

The Importance of Diversity on Campus

It is very important to emphasize diversity on any college campus.

Shining a light on diversity helps students from different backgrounds, races, ethnicities, religions, and sexual orientations feel included.

 It is almost certain that no student wants to feel isolated on a college campus because they are different and has a hard time relating to the majority. 

Sadly feelings of isolation are very common on college campuses. In fact, In a 2017 survey of nearly 48,000 college students, 64% said they had felt “very lonely” in the previous 12 months, while only 19% reported they never felt lonely. For more information on these statistics visit: Campus Loneliness

Focusing on diversity also helps to educate those on cultures outside their own.

High Point Universities Global Education helps tremendously to combat exclusiveness and promote inclusiveness of all students.

International Festival at HPU

High Point University's Global Education Department held an International Festival on Apr. 14, 2018. This was a festival that provided a fun way for attendants to learn about the culture of different countries. 

During my time at the festival I was amazed that there was a variety of different foods from around the world at each table. I saw pizza at the Italy table, chicken feet and tea at the China table, and so much more! 

There was also lots of information and even entertaining performances by a mariachi band, a Saudi Arabian Dance group and a few others.

This was an effective effort by the Global Education Department to provide a culturally-immersive event. It drew a large crowd and was overall a success. 

Here is a video of the International Festival including an interview by Jeff Palis, the Director of Global Education:

The Effect of Echo Chambers on Society

Imagine an environment where only similar ideas are accepted. Any idea that is out of the ordinary within this environment is ignored, even ones that could potentially make a positive change. That is exactly what you're getting with an Echo Chamber. An Echo Chamber is something I haven't heard of before until I researched it. According to the Cambridge Dictionary an Echo Chamber is, "a situation in which people only hear opinions of one type, or opinions that are similar to their own". The term is a metaphor that implies a "chamber" full of similar ideas and beliefs that just seem to "echo".

In some ways an Echo Chamber can be a good thing. A group focusing on one idea or one belief could potentially develop that idea or belief into something greater. For example, there could be a group of people sharing the same ideas who come together as an effort to improve poverty. There similar ideas and beliefs may be beneficial to them in this situation. However if no new ideas are presented how will a situation progress?

Overall I don't believe that Echo Chambers are very good for society.  In fact, I believe that Echo Chambers can cause a stagnation of society. If it weren't for people neglecting new ideas in a situation maybe we'd have flying cars by now, or just a slightly more advanced society. Not saying our modern day society is not advanced, I see new technology on news articles and social media almost everyday. What I am trying to get at is that our society could be progressing more if it weren't for these Echo Chambers. Society could also progress more not just with technology, but also when it comes to accepting people who are of various races, backgrounds, religions, and sexual identities.

For more information on Echo Chambers check out these links:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2018/02/28/are-you-in-a-social-media-echo-chamber-how-to-take-an-objective-look/#492078d061f9

https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/wyvc380NWO3MJNBiVAcpjJ/Opinion--Echo-chambers-algorithms-and-startups.html

http://shapingthefuture.economist.com/bubble-trouble-internet-echo-chambers-disrupt-society/

Online Presence on Social Media

Social Media sites such as Facebook and Instagram have become an enormous part of the lives of most people in America. Nearly everyone you see in public will glance down at there phones to scroll through social media at least once. It is a source of entertainment, a way to connect with family and friends, and is even used for business purposes. All of these social media sites however, tend to require a person to put out quite a bit of information about themselves for others to see.

I am quite active in the social media world. I have Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Linkedin accounts. For each of these social media websites I put a certain amount of information into the system. At first glance on any of my social media profiles even if they're private, you can find my name, my picture, and perhaps some of my interest. I don't see much of an issue with putting myself out there, mainly because I never share too much. Some people feel the opposite and don't really trust these sites with their information. It makes sense for them to feel this way and here's why:

It turns out social media websites gather information from cookies. They use this information to find advertisements that pertain to that information. There have also been incidents where people's personal information was leaked. An example of such an incident occurred recently with Facebook leaking hundreds of millions of peoples information. You can find more information on that incident on this article: Link. Are you for or against social media?