Diversity Week 2024: Place, community, and identity
Past and present students unite to promote inclusivity and understanding
At Yale-NUS College, the opportunity to engage in meaningful and open dialogue about differences stands as a core part of its liberal arts education. In February 2024, the College hosted its annual Diversity Week, during which students, staff members, and faculty alike came together to celebrate individual and collective identities and promote inclusivity.
Throughout the week-long programme, participants joined in a slew of exciting activities centred around themes such as heritage and community, language and vernaculars, faith, disability and pride. Highlights included a Batik Painting workshop led by artist Kamal Dollah, an evening of poetry readings courtesy of the online literary magazine Kopi Break and journal of creative practice PR&TA, and the highly-anticipated Night Market, where attendees immersed themselves in the various cultures represented within the Yale-NUS community and indulged in traditional delicacies.
This year’s Diversity Week was made all the more special by the presence of Yale-NUS alumni, some of whom returned to campus for the first time since graduation to lead panels and workshops. One such returning alumna was Kristen Oliveiro (Class of 2023), an Arts and Humanities Major. She currently serves as an arts manager at OH! Open House, an independent arts organisation that works with artists to present art in unconventional settings outside of museums and galleries. Kristen, alongside two colleagues, hosted the lunchtime panel titled “Representing Heritage and Community in the Arts”. The panellists shared their organisation’s commitment to spotlighting spaces and communities that are excluded from the national narrative, and provided attendees with a glimpse into Singapore’s independent and alternative arts scene.
Reception to the panel was positive, with many expressing that it offered them a fresh perspective on what it means to both create and understand art in Singapore. “I think OH!’s approach of looking at artwork as an interaction between an artist and a community seems like a more natural way to engage the community and foster diverse perspectives through the collective art they end up creating,” said Martin Lim (Class of 2025).
Reflecting on her return to campus, Kristen credited her education at Yale-NUS for inspiring and informing her present career. “I found out about Open House because of [former Assistant Professor of Art] James Jacks’ class ‘Social Practice Art’,” she recounted. “That really got me thinking about the kind of art I wanted to be involved in. The class taught me the value of working with communities, and many of the skills I learnt, such as deep listening, remain fundamental to what I do today.”
Kristen also offered current Yale-NUS students some valuable advice, emphasising the relevance and applicability of their college education to their future professional aspirations. “It would be impossible to do my job now without my degree,” she noted. “There are many overlaps in what I’ve learnt and what I’m doing now. And so, I hope students feel empowered and passionate to continue doing what they’re studying.”
In addition to culture and heritage, Diversity Week also included events related to interfaith engagement. Among those was a Rector’s Tea session hosted by Lecturer of Humanities (Philosophy) Dr Sherice Ngaserin, an alum of the Class of 2018. Drawing insights from her doctoral dissertation titled “Towards a Buddhist Metaphysics of Gender”, Dr Ngaserin delved into the complex history of the gendered self in Buddhist texts and philosophy. Specifically, she drew attention to the diversity of Buddhist theorisations about gender, even within the classical South Asian Śrāvakayāna tradition, where gender roles are largely perceived as essentialist.
Whilst her current specialisation lies in the study of South Asian Buddhism, Dr Ngaserin admitted that her present path as an academic philosopher would have been inconceivable without Yale-NUS’ Common Curriculum. She shared, “The Common Curriculum made disciplines like Philosophy and Chemistry – two subjects I have never been particularly good at nor interested in before – engaging and accessible, and it inspired me to imagine new possibilities for my future.”
On her feelings about being back in her alma mater as a faculty member, Dr Ngaserin expressed, “It was always my dream to return as an instructor and teach courses that would allow students from different disciplines to come together and imagine new possibilities for themselves.”
Amidst the thoughtful sessions and fun-filled festivities, it would be remiss not to acknowledge the Intercultural Engagement team of staff and Student Associates, whose tireless efforts and enduring passion made Diversity Week 2024 a vibrant and enriching experience for all.
Rebekah Nix (Class of 2025) drew an immense sense of pride from her role as a Student Associate in the Intercultural Engagement team. She especially relished directly engaging with individuals about core issues of identity at the Diversity Café, a space situated next to Brewhouse where students gather to discuss various topics over a cup of coffee. “Since I was more involved in assisting with the Diversity Cafés for most days, the encounters I had and the stories I heard were very impactful and broadened my perspective. I really enjoyed those mornings of sipping Brewhouse coffee and chatting with fellow students,” she said.
Helping to expand perspectives beyond the Yale-NUS community was Clay Lim (NUS College Class of 2026), who was proud to have assisted in planning this year’s Diversity Café about accessibility and inclusion. An integral part of Diversity Week since 2023, he maintained that each new iteration of Diversity Week presents fresh perspectives and opportunities for learning, for both participants and organisers alike. He reflected, “Seeing the variety of programmes organised by people passionate in various forms of diversity just goes to show that there is always room to celebrate diversity in any shape or form.”
The continued success of Diversity Week underscores the enduring impact of the Yale-NUS experience in shaping not only academic and career pursuits, but encouraging students to act in service of the communities they are a part of. Summing up the week’s events, Sun Jie Min (Class of 2022), who recently joined the Intercultural Engagement team last year, stated, “Diversity Week has a special place in the hearts of many Yale-NUS students and alumni. It embodies one of the key values of Yale-NUS and represents what we love about our community.”
