Contact:
Gwen O’Brien
Director of Media Relations
Saint Mary's College
(574) 284-4579
March 11, 2011 (Notre Dame, Ind.)—The 6th Annual Diverse Students’ Leadership Conference (DSLC), hosted by the Saint Mary's College Student Diversity Board (SDB), will be held on Tuesday, March 29 to Thursday, March 31. The purpose of DSLC is to enrich each participant's perspective of the adversities and benefits within diverse academic, social and professional settings. The event, which is put on by Saint Mary’s students, is free and open to the public. Anyone interested in attending should register. Some of the topics to be discussed in this year’s conference include health and social justice, human rights issues, cultural differences and women’s leadership.
Alexis Sontag, ’11, describes what DSLC offers this way, “DSLC presents a variety of lectures and workshops that provide a comfortable place for students and members of the community to come together and share dialogue about the issues of diversity that we face today. The conference is structured to help participants identify challenges and underlying prejudices that exist in various social institutions, develop educational and interactive skills to transform challenges into opportunities and become empowered leaders actively promoting the advantages of diversity.”
This year’s conference will open with keynote speaker Inge Auerbacher on Tuesday, March 29 at 7 p.m. in Stapleton Lounge, LeMans Hall. Auerbacher was born in Germany and was imprisoned from 1942-1945 in the Terezin concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. After immigrating to America in 1946, she graduated from Queens College with a degree in chemistry and has been associated with many renowned researchers in the field of medicine. In addition to this, she has had over fifty of her poems and four books published in up to eight languages. She is the recipient of the "Ellis Island Medal of Honor", the Louis E. Yavner Citizen Award, and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Long Island University, among other awards and recognitions.
Retired Staff Sergeant Eric Alva will give the closing keynote address. His speech is entitled, “Ending, ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell'” and will be held on Thursday, March 31 at 12 p.m. in Little Theatre, Moreau Center for the Arts. Sgt. Alva joined the United States Marine Corps in 1991 and served in Somalia as well as in the Iraq War. He is also a national spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign fight to repeal the military's “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. Among Alva's awards and recognitions for his service, are the 2003 Heroes and Heritage Award and the 2004 Hero's Among Us award from People magazine.
The keynote speeches are just two events that focus on diversity issues. There will also be workshops and a diversity showcase.
“The aim of the conference is to instill an awareness of the many prejudices still at work in our society and to empower students to work towards making positive social changes,” says Sontag.
Tickets are now available for Eric Alva’s lecture. They are free but required for admission. They can be reserved at MoreauCenter.com, by calling (574) 284-4626 or by visiting the Box Office. If you register for the conference and indicate that you will attend the Alva lecture, you do not need to reserve a ticket through the Box Office because your ticket will be included in your registration packet.
About Saint Mary’s College: Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Ind., is a four-year, Catholic, women’s institution offering five bachelor’s degrees and more than 30 major areas of study. Saint Mary’s College has six nationally accredited academic programs: social work, art, music, teacher education, chemistry and nursing. Saint Mary’s College ranks among the top 100 “Best National Liberal Arts Colleges” in the U.S. News & World Report 2011 College Guide. Founded in 1844, Saint Mary’s is a pioneer in the education of women, and is sponsored by the Sisters of the Holy Cross.