A small group of students and staff gathered today to tackle one of the difficult topics facing Sacramento State campus leaders: race and gender issues in student leadership.

The discussion, billed as Food for Thought, was the first of a series of discussions planned twice a week for eight weeks.

Louis Camera, director of Student Activities Office, was the facilitator for this first discussion at Sac State. Camera said he got the idea at a leadership conference last year.

In an attempt to capture student interest by offering something students usually want, namely food, Camera said he hopes to start discussions to share thoughts and talk about issues that pertain to student leadership.

“The best ideas are served up when food is involved,” Camera said.

Edidiong Uwan, a senior family and consumer sciences major and co-adviser of Associated Students Inc.’s Green Sting program, said that race and gender issues do exist at Sac State.

“Racially, you tend to stay with what you know,” Uwan said. “The African-American community pretty much knows each other and for the most part, that’s who we turn to for advice or to ask questions.”

Dezarae Johnson, a social work graduate student and Student Life and Services manager, said that she doesn’t feel that the tendency of races to group together is bothersome, until she sees other racial groups outside of her own forming groups.

“When I see another group acting that way, it makes me think that maybe I need to diversify,” Johnson said.

Leaders in attendance all agreed that student involvement in campus activities was a key to breaking down racial stratification at Sac State.

Charlene Martinez, the director of the Multi-Cultural Center, said that a more targeted outreach was necessary to generate interest in events. Martinez said she would like to see more involvement of department directors, ASI and other student organizations in future discussions.

Johnson said that instilling a sense of pride in the students would help to encourage racial mixing.

Ashley Skaggs, junior radiology major and co-coordinator of ASI Community Service for Student Life Services, said that at Chico State, Homecoming is always a big deal, but the same enthusiasm and school pride is not seen at Sac State.

Uwan said that giving student activity organizations more time with incoming freshman at orientation would help to get students involved and foster cross-racial friendships.

Skaggs said that the discussion helped her gain a better understanding of race and gender concerns in leadership on campus, both from the view of students and those of administrators.

Johnson said that collaboration between administrators, student groups, and other departments on campus would result in open communication and would help to get more students involved in the discussions.

Derek Fleming can be reached at [email protected].