The workshop with educational consultant Dr. Maura Cullen has become an anticipated yearly part of Orientation. At Brandeis University, Cullen has become a staple of first-year orientation, with this year's visit marking her sixth year anniversary at the school. On Tuesday, in a packed Spingold Auditorium, Cullen gave her interactive presentation on issues including diversity, communication, leadership and compassion. Again, students old and new were excited by Cullen's simple words of wisdom and no-nonsense commentary on perceptions and actions.

"We didn't think she could speak for two hours," Melissa Raphael '06 said, "but she did, and you didn't even notice the time."

From 7 to 9 p.m., Cullen used magic tricks, diagrams, slides, anecdotes and jokes to convey her message of tolerance and integrity to the audience. Participants discussed race, gender, sexual orientation, age, socioeconomic class, religion, ability and size discrimination in an interactive format.

Much of her presentation invoked humor in the crowd of teenagers and young adults. Cullen emphasized the important role of people in one another's lives, and the difference between being somebody's "builder" or somebody's "breaker." The phrase, "cruelty and ridicule make people disappear, while acts of kindness make people reappear" was a favorite of hers, as well.

Having worked in residence life at various universities for six years, Maura Cullen became accustomed to the challenges facing higher education today. She received her master's degree in Counseling and Psychological Services from Springfield College and her doctorate in education at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in Social Justice and Diversity Education.

Today, Cullen tours campuses around the world giving presentations and holding workshops. She says she acknowledges that people are always going to have stereotypes and assumptions about others because it is human nature, but the real test of character and integrity comes with what you do after you have these that matter. Do you try to get past the assumptions and open your eyes to the "multidimensional piece of people" or merely shy away from further examination. She hopes for the former, she said.

Leslie Meltzer '03, who has attended Cullen's presentation four times said, "She addresses issues that are very relevant to the Brandeis campus. This year, when she talked about issues of community and tolerance, it was more pertinent because of the WBRS incident."

A newcomer to the workshop, Carina Bergal '06 said, "I thought that her blunt approach hit home with a lot of students and really opened our eyes before saying and acting on anything.