Students of Color Group Opens Dialogue

Wednesday May 06, 2015

In the fall of 2014, College Park Scholars students met in the Cumberland basement to discuss
issues of social injustice. Now known as the Students of Color discussion group, they have grown
their members and expanded their mission over the course of the year.
The group meets every other Tuesday evening in the basement of Cumberland Hall under the
guidance of Scholars central staff members Brent Hernandez and Jeany Cadet.
The Scholars Dialogue is open to all. Alexia Thorpe, a sophomore Spanish major and
International Studies Scholar, said. It started off for College Park Scholars minorities, but our
leaders always extend the invitation to any of our friends to come and join us at the meetings, no
matter what race or program that they are a part of.
The groups main goal is to keep students informed about issues on this campus and in the
media, and to create a safe place for the students to discuss these issues. Students will talk
about current events and every day actions that are prevalent to them.
We talk about a lot of things, weve talked about the recent fraternity email, different issues like
race, gender issues, religious issues, basically whatever is on your heart that day you can talk
about, Zachary Holiday, a freshmen mechanical engineer and Media Scholar, said.
The Students of Color group is new to campus, but they are hoping to grow and reach the entire
Maryland campus, and not just Scholars.
I think it is definitely going to grow. We are inviting more people that are not in Scholars, but are
interested in talking about issues like that. They all really really like it. I could see this group
growing campus wide, Navjot Kaur a freshman Neurophysiology major and Life Sciences
Scholar, said.
The group will reconvene in the fall with plans to expand and embark on community service.