In the Press
Beaverton resident Steve Hanamura, who is blind and an Asian
American, tells high school teachers and students to enjoy their
friends, but always to meet and learn about new people
By FRED WAHLSTROM
Of the Times
staff photo by Fred Wahlstrom
TEACHING DIVERSITY - Beaverton
resident Steve Hanamura, a nationally known consultant on diversity
issues, uses an exercise to show students at Westview High School
how people perceive things differently. Seated, from the left
are Seath Kenzier, Hanamura, Nima Motamedi and Theo Yang. Standing
are Rick Goldstein, Mark Kho, Fabio Eanni and DalVa Potts.
BEAVERTON - "Diversity is valuing and respecting
the worth of others," says Beaverton resident Steve Hanamura,
"It's not about tolerance," he states, "but understanding
how our cultural perspective influences the way we respond to
others."
Although he has kept a low profile locally, Hanamura is a well
knows national consultant on diversity issues. As president of
Hanamura Consulting, he has traveled the country for the last
27 years bringing the subject into focus for Fortune 500 companies
as it relates to building bigger profits and a more productive
work force. His clients include Nike, American Airlines, Sun Microsystems,
Kaiser Permanent, Levi Strauss, Nordstrom, Safeway and the United
Way.
Now he's delivering his message to local schools including, most
recently, the faculty and students at Westview High School in
Beaverton.
Hanamura doesn't fear being different, and helping people understand
that diversity is valuable to both businesses and society alike
is the driving force for his consulting work. He also happens
to be blind and the offspring of Asian descendants.
He fell into diversity work while majoring in psychology at Linfield
College in McMinnville.
"What I remember most about college was being alone a lot,
even though I was well known on campus and I held several student
offices," he recalled. "I was the only blind person
on campus, and maybe one of a half dozen Asians in the entire
student body."
Those common denominators led him to want to convey to people
"that each person is special no matter what they do or what
talent they bring to the workplace or community.
Hanamura first began teaching his two-day workshop to the faculty
and students at Beaverton High School since all three of his sons
attended the school. The word quickly spread throughout the Portland
metro area, and he soon added Cedar. Mills elementary school and
Southridge, Lincoln and Jefferson High Schools as clients. He
recently held a two-day training session for the administration
of the Beaverton School District, and has been asked to assist
the staff in developing a district-wide mission statement on diversity.
When working with schools, he initially trains 20 students picked
from a crossection of the student body. The criteria includes
a mix of upper and lower classmen, and both male and female students
who come from various ethnic backgrounds. After completing the
training, the students give a presentation to the faculty that
identifies the key issues that need to be addressed by both groups.
"During the training we formed small groups:' said junior
Seth Kenzler. "The natural inclination was to join your friends
but Mr. Hanamura encouraged us to associate with ethnic groups.
It opened the door to meeting new people and get- ting to know
them better."
Hanamura then holds two-day workshops for the faculty dealing
with groups of 25 teachers per session. Based on student input,
the faculty then develops a vision statement for the entire school.
To date, 200 Westview students picked from the 2,300 student
body have participated in Hanamura's workshop. The entire faculty,
consisting of 120 teachers and counselors and 75 classified staff,
completed training sessions during summer break.
"Steve doesn't come across in a threatening or critical
way," said Westview Principal Len Case, who said the school
had used consultants before to deal with the issue of diversity
without success. "He helps people understand their own biases,
and he learns and grows with you. That's his strength'"
"He took the word prejudice and separated it from the connotations:'
said senior Rick Goldstein. "He taught us not to stereotype
people but look beyond appearances and first impressions, If you
act on your prejudices that's discrimination. But if you take
the time to get to know the person before making any judgment
you can be morcobjective in your decision' "
Senior Nima Motamedi sgreed, saying that "the training taught
us that it's okay to have prejudices, but it's not okay to discriminate."
Case pointed out that no other organization changes as much as
schools do. "There is a 25 per cent turnover in students
and faculty each year," he said, "and our staff needs
to understand and learn how to deal with that change effectively."
Since Westview opened its doors in 1994, there has been a steady
increase in minority groups. Today, minority students represent
approximately 26 per cent of the student body, with 28 different
languages being spoken. Hanamura's sessions identified such issues
as differences between the Asian and Latino students and a concern
for the gay/lesbian community.
"We want to ensure that all students are successful and
feel safe coming to school:' Case added. "A school is a microcosm
of the community. You have the good guys, the bad guys and the
in-betweens. You have to learn how to deal with every- one effectively."
Fabio Eanni, a senior, says he has made a lot more friends as
a result of the training. "When I first came here some people
were not very accepting of minorities, especially jocks and preppies.
The training helped to reduce the gap between different ethnic
groups. It has given me hope that there are people out there who
want to make a difference in the world."
According to Vice Principal Gail Van Gorder, several positive
activities have resulted from the diversity training. The school
celebrates Black History Month in February and Cinco de Mayo in
May. In addition, a diversity week is held in the spring that
includes cultural displays, ethnic foods, a fashion show, and
a talent show that features cultural music and dance.
"These wonderful events are great for the community,"
said Van Gorder, "but the day-to-day interaction between
the teachers and the students is where the real training happens."
Dalya Potts, a junior, said that when her family moved to Oregon
from California "we were one of two Afro-American families
in our neighborhood. My mother brought the racial differences
to the staff's attention and she was instrumental in helping the
school start Black History Month."
Theo Yang, a senior, helped form the 200-member Diversity Club
which regularly holds assemblies "to showcase the attributes
of the different cultural groups."
Hanamura said the experience working with the students has reinforced
his faith in the younger generation.
"Today's youth are more concemed about values than success,"
he said. I think it's us, the parents, who need to do some work.
We need to let them know that we still believe in them even when
they occasionally mess up and make mistakes."
This article appeared in The Valley Times on
October 12, 2000.
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