Outdoor Adventures and Campus Recreation encourage Minority Students to embrace the wilderness.
Nia Doaks | Staff Writer
This semester, students are getting an opportunity to win an all-expense paid, eight-day camping excursion during Spring Break.
In March, Outdoor Adventures is hosting a spring break trip for its second year. The Diversity and Inclusion adVenture Experience (DIVE) program is designed to encourage the acceptance of diversity amongst students and celebrate cultural differences. Geared primarily towards leaders in multicultural student organizations, DIVE allows students to realize the detrimental effects stereotyping and prejudice has on the N.C. State community.
Over the course of eight days, students are led by professionals in a variety of team-building events and physical training. Lessons on “Awareness of Self and Others,” “Stereotyping,” and “Society and Oppression” are incorporated into activities such as backpacking and rock climbing.
Yolanda Munoz, a sophomore studying Sports Management and participant of last year’s DIVE trip, viewed it as a fun and challenging experience. “It was truly a life-changing experience and one that I would never take back,” said Munoz. Participants were able to test their physical limits and expand on their abilities to work as a team.“DIVE was about learning how diverse [each one of] our thinking is, no matter if we were a part of the minority or majority population.”
Interested students must attend an information session and complete an application in order to be considered for the program. These sessions will be held on Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 3 and Feb. 4 from 6:00-7:00 p.m., in the Carmichael Playzone.
The DIVE trip is completely free for the students– Outdoor Adventures will provide everything that is necessary for those interested to camp and live safely in the woods for eight days. Students are scheduled to leave for the trip Saturday, March 8 and return Saturday, March 15. The location is to be determined (based on the weather) as the trip draws near.
The trip is particularly beneficial because of it’s approach to diversity. By removing people from the pressures and monotony of everyday life, they are forced out of their comfort zones and must look past differences in order to protect and support each other. The students can share the information and experiences with others in their groups, and encourage acceptance and tolerance throughout N.C. State’s campus.
“The trip was the first time I really began to understand what “diversity” meant,” said Munoz. “I think I can speak for everyone when I say that this experience did not leave one person unchanged.”
Final decisions on who will attend the program will be made by Feb. 12. For additional information or for those who have questions, contact Ashley Gray, the Coordinator of Outdoor Adventures.
