UPDATED: Jan. 25, 2016 at 1:16 p.m.

Starting this week, members of the Syracuse University community will be participating in Conversations about Race and Ethnicity, a six-week sustained dialogue program offered through the Division of Student Affairs.

This semester, four dialogue circles of C.A.R.E. participants will attend six dialogue sessions and have curriculum, but they are flexible to accommodate current events or personal experiences into the conversations, said Jordan West, who has been the graduate assistant coordinating C.A.R.E. since August 2014.

Anyone — students, faculty, staff or administration — can register and participate in C.A.R.E. during any given semester at SU, West said, but registration for this semester’s session, which starts the week of Jan. 24 and ends the week of Feb. 28, has already closed.

C.A.R.E. was created in 2004 through a collaboration between the Office of Residence Life and the Office of Multicultural Affairs in order to “deepen and broaden understanding of race and ethnicity,” said Rebecca Reed Kantrowitz, who was director of the Office of Residence Life at the time and is now the senior vice president and dean of student affairs.

Kantrowitz said SU officials felt in 2004 that this program was something they needed to start.

Over the years, C.A.R.E. has improved, Kantrowitz said, adding that the program has always had the benefit of being led by a graduate student. For example, when West took over the program she changed the curriculum so that it was more up to date and relevant to SU, Kantrowitz said.

“(C.A.R.E.) changes as it needs to, to reflect current day issues,” Kantrowitz said.

She added that she would love for the program to be expanded, but there are currently no plans for expansion other than to add more dialogue circles as needed.

In regard to the leaders of the dialogue circles, West said C.A.R.E. facilitators know how to manage the dialogue circles, the curriculum and any shifts in conversation that may occur.

“Facilitators have the autonomy to engage to various conversations especially if something comes up in the news or is happening in that moment,” West said.

The C.A.R.E. curriculum also has the flexibility to accommodate groups that may be quiet or engage in a different way, West said. Everything done in the dialogue circles — which usually have about 12 to 15 people each — is accessible, she added. For example, YouTube videos are always shown with closed captions.

The program is free and not for academic credit, and the only cost is one’s time, West said. C.A.R.E. participants are required to attend each weekly two-hour meeting for the six-week period and actively listen and participate during the circle dialogues.

Some SU community members, such as resident advisers, are required to register for C.A.R.E. But West said she usually doesn’t know who is required to attend the sessions and who isn’t.

“I just look at it like you registered because you are interested,” West said.

Last semester, nearly 140 people — 11 dialogue circles — registered and participated in C.A.R.E. This semester, about 50 people — four dialogue circles — are registered for the program. West added that the spring always sees less enrollment compared to the fall.

Another program similar to C.A.R.E. is Intergroup Dialogue — a course students can take for credit that runs the entire semester, West said. Both C.A.R.E. and Intergroup Dialogue are opportunities to engage in conversation and the two programs have a strong partnership with each other, she said.

Sometimes students who enroll in Intergroup Dialogue decide to also register for C.A.R.E. afterward, West said, and vice versa.

West said she hopes all C.A.R.E. participants find the program to be a space where they can self-reflect, think critically about race and ethnicity and consider the experiences of others.

“I really want people to understand that there are systems of oppression out there and that there’s power and that there’s privilege and different societal constructed factors that influence how we experience identity as a whole, and then in this case race and ethnicity,” West said.

When THE General Body held an 18-day sit-in at Crouse-Hinds Hall in fall 2014, one of the demands on its 45-page list of grievances was more dialogue spaces. West said C.A.R.E. is meeting this demand.

During the six-week program, West said she doesn’t know what is going to happen, but at the end of every session she receives feedback and evaluations from participants. Some people note that they need to do more research themselves; others leave motivated by the program to do something more.

“I think people are at different stages when they leave, but my hope is that regardless of what that stage or point looks like, you are being really critical,” West said. “You’re asking yourself questions, you’re asking questions of others, you’re looking to learn more.”

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this article, the number of people who normally participate in each dialogue circle was misstated. The number is actually 12 to 15. The Daily Orange regrets this error.

Published on January 24, 2016 at 10:32 pm

Contact Sara: smswann@syr.edu | @saramswann