I would first like to thank you for allowing me this opportunity to attend the 27th Annual NCORE. Although I was somewhat disappointed to hear the present location of this years conference was at Indianapolis while previous years have been in much more renowned cities, that did not diminish the experience at all. Never have I attended a conference teeming with people of similar but yet different backgrounds striving for the same goal of diversity. It was my honor to be there as a representative for Notre Dame, and next year and in future years, I am sure that others will be able to gain as much as Ihave from NCORE.

Considering this was my first ever NCORE, I was coming in somewhat blind. Although I did try to use the website in order to gain a clearer layout of the conference, I found it nearly impossible to navigate a whole weeks worth of author signings, events, conferences, and caucuses. As someone who likes to plan out events to make the most out of his time, would it be possible for us to be provided the Program and Resource Guide earlier to our arrival? If not, a condensed list of workshops sorted by interest (Asian, Black, Latino, Multiracial or LGBTQ interests) would be appreciated. In addition, a brief highlight on the different caucuses held during the conference would help understand what else NCORE may offer. In understanding the diverse options offered by NCORE, I believe it would give participants a goal in mind. It’s hard to accomplish everything I wanted to in just five days, but once I understood the setup, I was able to divide the workshops I wanted to attend evenly. How I tried to arrange my schedule was to divide the conference into three parts: further reflections of self, understanding of other cultures and mindsets, and to have some fun as well. Other will perhaps have a different agenda in mind coming into NCORE, but I think it would be great to at least give next year attendees a better picture of what to possibly expect at NCORE.

In my attempts to understand self, I decided to attend the Asian American Pre-
Conference for the first part of NCORE. It was here that I was introduced to ProfessorMatthew R. Mock of John F. Kennedy University. I would highly recommend him as a potential Asian/Asian American speaker at Notre Dame. His quirky behavior along with his deep insights of the Asian/Asian American psyche would make him an instant hitwith students. He constantly jokes that he is a “passionate Asian”, and his passion iseasily seen and readily accepted.

The greatest aspects of NCORE are the networking opportunities. Beyond finding potential speakers, this was a great time to meet new people, make new friends, and have deep, meaningful conversations. I would encourage everyone who attends NCORE to purposely seek these types of interactions, as I have found this to be the most enlightening aspect of NCORE for me. You begin to learn things that would not necessarily be taught in a classroom. I met a student who was adopted and learned the struggles she faced as an Asian American adoptee. I heard the amazing story of a woman chased away from her country, and I had a more than 4-hour conversation with a gentleman concerning the crossroads of race and sexuality (he actually sent me his thesis NCORE about this topic). Even though I will probably never encounter these unique individuals again, their stories will have affected the lens in which I view the world. In my opinion, that is exactly the whole purpose of NCORE. I not only had the fortune of meeting faculty, administration, and students from various other colleges, but I also had the fortune of meeting many Notre Dame faculty and administration I have not had the pleasure of meeting yet. I had a great lunch discussion with Dr. Christine Caron Gebhardt concerning the GRC’s role on campus and what can be improved. I also had the great opportunity to talk and connect with Kim Pho about the Asian American experience particularly at Notre Dame. Looking back, I wish I were able to meet the other individuals from Notre Dame prior to going to NCORE. I believe this will help us students put a face to a name for faculty and administration that are fighting the same fight we as students of color are facing.

I have learned a little something with all the different workshops and caucuses Iattended, but probably the most revealing to me was attending the white caucus. It does sound strange for me, an Asian American, to attend a caucus with the purpose of helping people who classify themselves as white to network, but that’s exactly why I went: to get out of my comfort zone and help myself understand the majority experience. It was surprising to say the least to hear what the members of the caucus had to share and their insights on NCORE and their work back on campus. Too many times do we focus on the minority experience that we forget the majority is also affected in this “raced” world. I heard stories of various University’s Diversity Programs and Services, and how they are usually the only white person there. How people of color would look at them with caution wondering, “Why is he/she here?” or “I am not here to absolve your white guilt”. In these stories, I discovered that the same experiences we as minorities face are as real and harmful in the white world as well.  My other intention in the white caucus was to hear their views on white privilege and how to navigate this touchy subject. Given the amount of controversy going on at Notre Dame and the particular views held by certain students, I wanted to understand how present the minority’s view of white privilege that could lead to constructive questioning rather than an argument with no real goals accomplished. Much of the advice and insight I did receive was rather disheartening in my opinion, but it has definitely helped. Many of them admitted to rejecting the existence of white privilege in the past before they finally understood what it truly was. In their advice as white people and as someone who struggled with that concept, they told me it ultimately was themselves who had to make that change, but my voice could have some swaying power in their understanding of white privilege.

Just a small recommendation would be to slightly change the business cards given to us to hand out to others. With permission, I think it would be great to have our cell phone numbers included on the business cards. Many times I found myself having to write down my cell phone number to people interested in talking or meeting up later that week. Including any other pertinent information on the business cards would be great as well.

As for suggestions on topics that should be expanded or included in next years NCORE, there should be more discussions on the crossroads of different identities. There were many workshops on being Asian, Asian American, Black, or Latino, but there were few in discussing being Asian and gay, mixed races, or being Latino and appearing white. I understand that the complex nature of diversity sometimes has to be boiled down to a one-dimensional view in order to simplify it, but we cannot neglect the other facets of diversity as well. Other possible topics for discussions are the less known parts of the LGBTQ community: the B and the T. In going to some of the LGBTQ workshops, I noticed how the research or lectures tended to disregard the other groups entirely.

Matt Wong

NCORE Conference 2014

On May 26th I flew to Indianapolis, Indiana to attend the 27th Annual National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in American Higher Education with fellow University of Notre Dame students and faculty. This was my first time attending NCORE and hopefully not my last.I was approached by Notre Dame Faculty to attend NCORE as a representative of our Native American Student Association. As the current co-president of NASA I thought this would be a great opportunity to become more involved in campus affairs and educate myself on current issues. As the date approached, I was in contact with past NCORE student attendees and asked their opinion about the conference. Their reviews of the conference set a high bar and made me skeptical of how true their memory was. When I arrived at the JW Marriot Hotel I was welcomed by very friendly staff who gave me my nametag along with my Program & Resource Guide. The weekend was already off to a great start and I thought maybe the past NCORE students did remember correctly.

I had shared a room with a fellow Notre Dame student for the duration of the conference. I had never met her before that day and by the end of the week I was able to have the pleasure of calling her my friend. We flipped through our programs together circling which sessions we wanted to attend throughout the week and had to make the hard decisions when we were stuck choosing between two or more options during one slot time. I was impressed with the amount of information in our programs. Any question either of us had was answered in our neatly bound programs.

When I agreed to go to NCORE I signed up for a Pre-Conference Institute session called Social Justice Training Module for American Indian Students: A View from the Inside. I expected the room to fill up and to only be a face that my neighbor would remember. My expectation was wrong; the room had only fifteen people in attendance and by the end of the two day session I knew everyone and everyone knew me. We became so close and supportive of each other that we decided we wanted to continue our discussions even after the conference. The first half of the conference was focused on our own selves and reflecting on who exactly we are. We can’t help others find themselves and become strong if we ourselves don’t know ourselves. The second half of the session was about sharing our personal hardships of social injustice on our campuses, work offices and in everyday life. I was able to give advice about how I handle it and I also received great advice on how I could handle situations better. There is certainly a lot of information that I want to tell NASA at Notre Dame members about. Some of these experiences were very emotional and personal to each person and they gave me permission to share their stories but out of respect I don’t want to put them down on paper. At my discretion I’ll verbally share our stories at the appropriate time.

Throughout the week I attended other great sessions that if I wrote about all of them I’ll be writing all day but one I have to mention was Exploring the Intersection: American Indians and African Americans. This was a short session that by the end was decided that it definitely needs to be at least a half a day session. Thirty to forty people showed up for this session and by the time we went around with introductions and were asked a few questions the time was up. This again was an emotional session because you could hear the confusion and hurt in their voices when answering the posed questions. I myself was very moved by stories that rang true for me too and I was surprised by how many I was able to relate to. The two women leading the discussion were prepared to give us a history of important events such as the Trail of Tears and about people like President Jackson and the Buffalo soldiers. This tragic time in our past influences us still today because the voices in that room were cracking. I would like to bring this to the attention to our campus. A lot of people in that room were nervous to claim their Native American heritage because of the hype around Native Americans today. They didn’t want to offend and they were given positive feedback that I’d like to share. I know there is not a lot of people on campus who claim being Native American or if they do they claim “a drop” but there are those who like the people in that room who were confused on how to go about exploring another side of their heritage. There may be some on our campus who need a little encouraging. I’m looking forward to more members in NASA at Notre Dame,

While I going to the sessions and activities throughout the week I tried to create contacts and to see who I would like to see on our campus. People who I thought were good speakers or who had a great message would get filed away in my head for later. The people on that list I made is Heather Kind-Keppel from the University of Wisconsin. She is passionately involved with spreading the word of social injustice and works to end it one talk at a time. She is very personable and easy to feel comfortable around given the weight of the issues she talks about. The second person I want to mention is Keynote Speaker Vandana Shiva, Philosopher, Environmental Activist, Eco-femist. I loved her speech. She had a great message and after she stepped off the stage I sent a reminder to myself that I have to tell my family about her. The third person I recommend is Sedelta Oosahwee, Med, Associate Director, White house initiative on American Indian and Alaska Native education Office-Washington, DC. Sedelta Oosahwee helped lead the Exploring the Intersections: American Indians and African Americans session and I was so impressed by her. If I were to answer the question of who my role model is, family members aside, I would say Sedelta. I have no higher recommendation than that.

In conclusion, I want to say thank you for the opportunity to send me to this conference. I would never have believed that I would one day be attending such a conference. Enjoy the rest of the summer and I look forward to seeing you in the fall!

De’Lana Northbird