“After fostering understanding the next step should be trying to break down barriers actively,” Ch’ng says. “We set up formal spaces and times for individuals to meet, but those individuals go back to their rooms and talk to roommates and classmates and friends, so that the words, experiences and perspectives of Sustained Dialogue can reverberate throughout Harvard.”

According to Sustained Dialogue member Taj E. Tucker ’12, translating discussions of difference to action is crucial to spreading these ideas.

“Harvard prides itself on our diversity, but what do you do with that, and where do we go from here?” Tucker wonders aloud.

Leaders of the program and involved administrators say they hope that Sustained Dialogue’s student involvement will expand next year.

Miriam B. Muscarella ’12, a moderator of one of the discussion groups, says she has already seen the program’s success in creating a positive environment for people to explore their own identities and learn about others, leading to a campus culture that is more accepting of its inhabitants.

“Even though everyone is bringing a different perspective to the table, I can really see the development of a community,” she says. “It’s all about making diversity more than a number on a piece of paper.”

—Staff writer Alice E.M. Underwood can be reached at aeunderw@fas.harvard.edu