Graduating senior Warner works to break barriers
as Project Dialogue coordinator
by Adrienne Outlaw
Graduating public policy major Jamillah Warner recently accepted a position
as the 1997-98 Project Dialogue coordinator. As coordinator, Warner will
be responsible for chairing the executive board of students, faculty and
staff responsible for planning the yearlong program around the theme "Barriers,
Boundaries and Bridges."
"We are very pleased to have Jamillah Warner as our Project Dialogue
Coordina-tor," said Gay Welch, University chaplain and program officer.
"Her leadership experience as a student and as an employee for Housing
and Residential Education, her commitment to cultural diversity and issues
of justice and fairness make her a welcome addition to the program. We're
excited about her enthusiasm and her energy."
Photo by Billy Kingsley
Project Dialogue was begun in 1989 with events occurring every other academic
year. It is a campus program designed to stimulate intellectual life outside
the classroom and encourage discussion around various topics.
From Carrollton, Ga., Warner has actively worked to break down communication
barriers at Vanderbilt. She has been vice president of Dyer Hall and the
Racial Environmental Project. She is president of Vanderbilt's Black Student
Alliance.
"It just seems like if we could begin to talk about things, then we
could start to understand things, and then begin to change things, if needed,"
said Warner. As head resident and residential adviser for the McTyeire international
dorm, she served as the liaison for the administration, counseled students
and coordinated educational programs.
Involved in both sports and the arts, Warner said she enjoys the discipline
each field requires. She was on Vanderbilt's varsity track and field team
for two years before directing and writing for the Rhythm & Roots Performance
Group. Warner hopes to incorporate the arts in the Project Dialogue activities.
"I would like to do an arts project that would connect different cultures
and different aspects of the Vanderbilt and United States community as it
is represented here," said Warner. "We would learn and create
and have fun, and in the process generate dialogue."
Warner said she hopes to contribute her communication skills to Project
Dialogue to create a productive year. "I think the main thing is dealing
with different kinds of people, learning to deal with different attitudes,
demeanors and types of thinking, different obstacles and how to get around
them and learning when to be forceful and when to be delicate," she
said.
Warner plans to take a quick break between graduating and officially starting
her job. Even though she took 18 hours of credit this semester, she is already
looking ahead to planning events for Project Dialogue. "In order for
people to learn things, they have to first talk about it and then to do
something with action. An interesting goal would be to see what we could
do with Project Dialogue as an action," Warner said.
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This document created May 28, 1997
HTML Translation by Billy Kingsley