While Dean of Student Life Jamele Adams reported many positive statistics on diversity in his first annual State of Diversity address, he noted that fifty-one per cent of Brandeis undergraduates felt the University only minimally “support[ed] people in getting to know people of different backgrounds.

This is surprising considering the number of campus events aimed at stimulating cross-cultural and diverse dialogue. In this past week alone, there has been an international symposium bringing together artists and scholars from the U.S. and India and a panel on religion co-sponsored by AHORA! and Hillel. While there is always room for improvement, it would hard to say that the administration is slacking when it comes to supporting cross-cultural interaction.

So why then do students feel that the University has not encouraged them in meeting fellow undergraduates from different backgrounds?

Perhaps the problems lie with the student body. We should not simply rely on the administration to hold our hand and link us with other students.

While the average Brandeis student is involved with at least one campus club, they must be willing to look outside their interests to meet people of different backgrounds.

This does not necessarily mean joining student clubs and organizations that you have no interest in, but perhaps attending the events sponsored by those organizations as a way of meeting people from different backgrounds.

This isnt a signal for the administration to be any less active in providing cross-cultural events, simply a reminder to students to look at the My.Brandeis calendar every once in a while and maybe even attend an event.