SOUTHEAST STUDENTS PUSH HOT-BUTTON ISSUES ON COMPUTER

Eight Southeast students talked about hot-button cultural diversity issues Saturday morning without a voice being raised or a tear dropped, all because the conversations took place within the circuits of a computer network.

The four international students, three Student Government officials and a historic preservation major gathered in the Crisp Hall Computer Center with a common goal: finding ways to integrate the school's diverse populations into campus life.

The students were those who showed up among nearly 40 students, faculty and staff members invited by Christopher Robertson, president of Student Government at Southeast.

The workshop was sponsored by the American Creativity Association, whose board is holding its annual meeting this week in Cape Girardeau.

Led by Eugene Quidort, a facilitator from Binghamton, N.Y., the workshop employed a problem-solving computer program that captures information that helps identify problems and steps that point toward solutions.

"The answers are still with you guys," said Quidort, a former IBM manager, "but it's at least getting a dialogue going."

Anonymously seated in front of computers, the students were prompted to respond to 31 questions about diversity on campus. The program also allowed for responses to other students' ideas and opinions.

Among the views emerging were that Student Government does not represent international students, and the idea that people sometimes identify too strongly with a group and sacrifice their individuality.

The beginnings of a discussion about the merits of individualism and collectivism appeared.

Jon Colburn, the historic preservation student, credited the computer program with allowing a useful beginning to take place.

"Each constituent group is just waiting to be offended," he said. "Everyone is so polarized, discussion doesn't happen. This is a way to take the faces away and develop a dialogue."

Haider Abdul, a human resources student from Zanzibar, thinks the computer program only provides a first step. Eventually he wants to discuss these issues face to face.

"I don't come from a country where people talk through machines," he said.

Robertson was impressed with the results of discussion-by-computer, and at the end of the workshop called for a campuswide meeting inviting everyone from different cultures to attend.