Thursday, February 26, 1998
Creativity resolves conflicts, ROTC says
ROTC: Event shows that school military organization are in sync
with university’s mission
By Barbara Ortutay
Daily Bruin Contributor
With its first-ever community outreach program, the UCLA ROTC is
exploring aspects of conflict resolution not commonly attributed to
the military.
Although men and women in uniform outnumbered civilians at the
relatively sparsely attended event, this did not deter the
organizers from carrying on a successful conflict resolution
panel.
"There is this general sense that ROTC does its thing out there,
separate from the rest of the student body, when in fact we are
largely in sync with the mission of the university," said
Cadet/First Lieutenant Evan Seamone, who organized Wednesday’s
event.
"This event has been my baby for a while," he added.
The panel was somewhat delayed because of parking problems, but
around noon it began with a performance by the UCLA ROTC drill
team.
"This is to get the creative juices flowing," said Seamone.
The goal of the panel was to resolve conflict creatively,
through communication and understanding.
The first speaker, Carol Petersen from UCLA’s conflict
resolution program, spoke about affirmative action and the
diversity of the UCLA student body during the 1993 protests over
affirmative action.
"The strength of the presence of students was extremely
important – the protests showed the diversity of the student body
in a peaceful way," she said.
Following Petersen, members of the conflict resolution program
performed a skit demonstrating racial conflict in a restaurant.
In the skit, two students got into an argument with a waiter
over ordering a one-drink minimum, and the conflict resulted in
both sides using racial slurs against each other.
"The purpose of this exercise is to show that arguments can
arise from everyday situations," said Michael Megturo, also from
UCLA’s conflict resolution program.
"Stereotypical assumptions and words one uses can result in a
conflict whether one is in a restaurant or a policy table
discussing affirmative action," he continued.
Following the issue of conflict resolution within the UCLA
community, the panel moved on to national, then international
conflict mediation.
Speaker John J. Welsh, from the Strauss Institute for Dispute
Resolution in Pepperdine, emphasized the importance of resolving
conflict without going to court. He said about 80 percent of
conflicts brought to organized mediation are settled, without cases
going to court.
"Especially in California, mediation has become part of the the
fabric of the community," he continued.
The panel explored cultural and racial conflict resolution
through understanding different perspectives.
"In a dispute, particularly one that is volatile, the key issue
is to make connections that will allow people to see each other as
individuals," said Petersen.
Although the audience was mostly made up of ROTC members, a
handful of civilian students also expressed interest in conflict
resolution.
Mariana Corozo, director of programs at the International
Student Center, said she attended the panel to help understand
conflicts within the international student community.
"We work with people from different cultures, and sometimes
there are misunderstandings and problems – I am trying to bring
this back to the work I do," she said.
NASA Gen. John R. Dailey’s speech capped off the event. He spoke
not only on international conflict resolution, but also on his
experiences as an UCLA student many years ago.
Executive Vice Chancellor Charles Kennel presented Dailey with a
UCLA pin, which he said he will wear with pride as he confronts his
co-workers.
"This place provided me with a foundation that carried me
through life; I learned more here than anywhere else," he said.
"It opened my eyes to things I was not aware of before, because
of the cosmopolitan and international environment," he added.
Dailey used U.S. relations with Russia as an example of the need
to learn cultural differences in order to communicate
successfully.
"Vodka is an essential part of Russian negotiation – they take
it as an insult if you don’t drink," he said.
To comply with this, Dailey said he always has a bottle of vodka
(approved by the state department) in his NASA office in case he
needs to negotiate with Russian delegates.
"We had to be aware of different cultural customs in order to
communicate successfully," he added.