Campus Community

Who is Making a Difference

Profiles

Deborah Tidwell

In an increasingly global society, Dr. Deborah Tidwell has learned one important lesson about diversity: “Don’t think you know – because you don’t,” says the Associate Professor in Curriculum and Instruction. A UNI faculty member for 16 years, she explains that even after conducting research in a particular area, it is possible that the researcher can still be in the dark. 

“To comprehend issues of equity and fairness, understanding one’s own experiences is only part of the picture,” she says. “It is important to understand others’ perspectives and experience as well.”  She says that happens when we engage one another, and learn from one another.

For some time now, Tidwell has been interested in developing ways to diversify the campus, and to make higher education accessible for all socio-economic classes. “Many high- and middle-class individuals have the assumption that people at the poverty level do not want to obtain a higher education. This is not even close to the truth.” Tidwell notes that those working in lower-paying jobs typically cannot afford to pay for higher education, when their earnings barely meet basic living costs. She envisions a system that would offer opportunities for a more affordable, more accessible education. The end result, she says, would be a more diverse campus.

“A widely diverse campus provides students and faculty with rich opportunities for both personal and professional growth, and increases the level of education provided as well as the quality of the campus itself.”

Allison

When a friend told Allison about the University of Northern Iowa West African Drum Ensemble (UNI-WADE), her interest was immediately piqued. Upon joining the group, Allison has learned a great deal about a culture very different from her own, made new friends, and increased her ability to make music. “This was the perfect opportunity for me, because I’m someone who loves to broaden her horizons and learn about new things.”

UNI-WADE was formed in 1997, and is now a continuing course offered through the School of Music that may be taken for credit.  The curriculum includes drumming, dancing and singing from Ghana, West Africa. Members are UNI students, and the ensemble’s current repertoire is based on the music of the Ewe people, specifically those from Kopeyia, Ghana.  Featured are Ewe drums made in Ghana — sogo, kidi, kaganu, klobotodzi, totodzi, donno, gankogui, axatse and frikyiwa —and master drums — gboba and atsimevu. The group is directed by Randy Hogancamp, Associate Professor of Music.

Allison encourages other students to consider involvement. “No experience needed,” she says. “Just a willingness to learn the African style of drumming and dancing.”

Rachel

Rachel was only 4 years old when she recognized she was not the same as her friends. At that young age, though, she was unable to articulate the difference. But as she and her friends aged, and they became interested in boys, the difference became clear: Rachel was attracted to other girls.

“I knew I was a lesbian,” says Rachel, who did not reveal her sexual orientation until high school. At that time, she told only a few friends, but it was not as well received as she would have preferred. In fact, her friends distanced themselves and began to treat her differently. “It was a slow process of rejections,” recalls Rachel. Her friends stopped sitting next to her at lunch, wouldn’t invite her to parties, and sometimes acted like they didn’t know her.

“You don’t get to be homecoming queen by having a lesbian for a friend.” She jokes about it now, but remembers it as a very painful time. “The people I considered my family were pushing me away.”

She came to UNI, though, and found people who had similar experiences and who accepted her. She began dating a young woman she’d met previously, and eventually casually told her friends she was a lesbian. “If you don’t treat it like you have a terminal illness, they’ll do the same,” she says now.

Rachel is now co-president of the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Ally Union (GLBTAU), and partners with other organizations to address issues like diversity and harassment.  “As separate organizations, we are weaker than when we come together. Together, we present a united front for change.”