DISCUSSION SERIES TAKES ON HOT TOPICS AT MCC

"TriCo: Segregation or Support?" will be the first in a series of community discussions titled "Hot Topics," to be sponsored by the Office for Intercultural Affairs and held at the Multicultural Center. The discussions, says Assistant Dean and Director of Intercultural Affairs Christopher MacDonald-Dennis, will be scheduled as issues arise. The first talk will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 23. Dessert will be served.

"These talks are meant to be open dialogues in which a range of opinions and thoughts can be shared, discussed and challenged in a safe space," MacDonald-Dennis said yesterday. "We'll begin by setting some ground rules about the discussion, and then people will be able to express their opinions. Some meetings will be more solution-oriented and others will serve just to clear the air, but each meeting will end with a discussion of the next step to be taken, even if the next step is simply continuing dialogue, which is often what's required."

The first topic of discussion is the Summer Tri-College Program, a weeklong orientation sponsored by Bryn Mawr, Haverford and Swarthmore Colleges for incoming students of color. Tri-Co precedes Customs Week, the general orientation. "I chose Tri-Co as the subject because I immediately heard from students that there was some dissension on campus about it," said MacDonald-Dennis, who started work at Bryn Mawr on July 30, less than a month before Tri-Co started.

"Some people feel that this program is a necessary step to assist first-year students of color to thrive at the three colleges, while others hold that it divides students and promotes self-segregation," MacDonald-Dennis wrote in an e-mail invitation to the community. "Please come to the MCC to share your ideas and listen to others who may challenge your assumptions."

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