Walking around Austin, the faces are no longer either simply Slavic or Nordic, they are a variety of shapes and colors, their owners from every corner of the world.

Friday, October 08, 1999

Walking around Austin, the faces are no longer either simply Slavic or Nordic, they are a variety of shapes and colors, their owners from every corner of the world.

While that observation is not a new one, the League of Women Voters Austin (LWVA) are aiming to address Austin’s diversity at a town meeting Oct. 25.

"Fortunately for Austin, I think, there has been an influx of people of color and many nationalities," LWVA president Greta Kraushaar said. "For so long Austin had a largely homogeneous community. Now we’re growing, we have people coming in from other lands who might follow different religions or customs. That frightens some – I think it’s fear of the unknown – and delights others."

The town meeting comes after a year-long study by the LWVA on Austin’s changing community, and Kraushaar is hoping the meeting will be well-attended. Dan Conradt will be moderating the meeting, to be held in the Senior Citizen’s Center from 7-8:30 p.m. Oct. 25, and various community resource people will also be available for advice as well as comment.

"We would like to see a large meeting of Austin natives and others," Kraushaar said. "These are people who put their pants on the same way; sometimes it just takes an event to get the dialogue going. I hope we can sit down together and tell each other what our expectations are and find out more about each other."