ISU sociology professor speaks on diversity

“Welcome them all or build a wall? Diversity: Good or Bad?”

That was the theme of a speech by ISU assistant sociology professor Jeremy Thomas. Thomas spoke at Idaho State University Thursday night about diversity.

He focused on both the pros and cons of diversity in a community. The meeting was organized by ISU’s P.E.A.C.E. program and Pocatello’s “2 Great 4 Hate” organization.

Dave Finkelnburg, president of 2 Great 4 Hate, said the goal was to get people talking about diversity more.

Thomas said the key point he wanted to get across was the help people recognize that while diversity does have its challenges, it is beneficial to communities.

Thomas talked about how important diversity is to a community. It allows an area to enrich its culture. It also provides a learning environment for others where they can interact and find out about other cultures and religions.

Thomas said it also helps recognize similarities and differences and how they work together. He said America is largely made up of different cultures and so it’s important to understand the interaction between different groups.

While Thomas said there are many types of diversity, he focused specifically on ethnicity, race and national origin.

He said in a globalized world like today’s society, there will always be diversity so it’s an important topic.

“On the one hand, we, lots of people, want to promote diversity and say, ‘this is fantastic,'” Thomas said. “On the other hand, we have to recognize how do we respect difference and perhaps at the same time want to work toward certain ideals. So that’s really the challenge of diversity.”

Thomas said he really hopes people will realize it’s important to look beyond surface level differences, like speech or dress.He said looking deeper into things like different beliefs or religions can help society grow and develop.

Finkelnburg said he hopes people realize how important diversity it is and how necessary. He said if people can’t learn to welcome it, he at least hopes they can learn to tolerate it.

2 Great 4 Hate was started in 2010 after white supremacist literature was left on the doorsteps of people in Pocatello. Since then, Finkelnburg said the organization has tried to promote and help all human rights in Pocatello.

For more information on 2 Great 4 Hate, visit its Facebook page.