Climate Survey Measures Diversity and Inclusion on Campus

As students at SUNY Plattsburgh and the University of Vermont gather on their respective campuses to protest a lack of administrative response to racial injustices, the St. Lawrence Office of Diversity and Inclusion is concurrently spearheading an initiative that they hope will reveal the impediments to diversity and inclusion that exist at SLU.

Last Tuesday, February 20, Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, Kimberly Flint-Hamilton, sent out a campus-wide email encouraging students, faculty, and staff to participate in a survey on diversity and inclusion on St. Lawrence’s campus.

The survey, which takes less than 30 minutes to complete, is centered on individuals’ experiences at SLU. It asks participants to reflect on their time at SLU, posing probing questions like: “Have you ever been discriminated against or harassed on the St. Lawrence campus, at an off-campus residence, or at an off-campus program/event affiliated with St. Lawrence?” And, “do you feel that diversity and inclusion are currently primary values in the St. Lawrence University community?”

The survey is the first of its kind to be released to the SLU community, with no comparable survey having been circulated in recent years. The results of the survey will be used to guide the future work of the University’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee, which was crafted in the wake of President Fox’s Presidential Commission on Diversity, and will also be compiled into a public report.

Some students remain tentative about how much of an impact the climate survey will have. Wezi Bota ’17 states, “I just want to see where the survey will take us. I know a lot of students who have gone to administration previously, and nothing has changed. I’d like to see if this is any different.”

The release of a campus-wide climate survey on diversity and inclusion has been a goal for Hamilton since her arrival at St. Lawrence in early 2017. Hamilton, along with the three students and nearly fifteen faculty, staff, and senior administrators that make up the Diversity & Inclusion Committee, have devoted multiple hours each week to crafting the survey as well as discussing the efforts that need to be made to improve the diversity and inclusivity of St. Lawrence.

The Diversity & Inclusion Committee has met bi-weekly for the past few years. In addition to the circulation of this survey, the committee is responsible for the creation of: Hamilton’s position as Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, a bias response team, and the Samantha Mae Colton Leadership in Diversity and Inclusion Award and Grant.

Committee members also broke off into sub-committees, with each subdivision focusing on different spheres of on- and off-campus life. For example, one of the subcommittees examined the state of childcare locally, while another subcommittee looked at the racial composition of faculty members.

Christopher Di Mezzo ’18, one of the student members of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee, is hopeful that the survey will aid in the betterment of SLU’s campus as a whole. In an interview with The Hill News, he stated: “This survey is a crucial part of building a more inclusive campus because it allows the University to hear and weigh all voice across our community.” He continued, “This survey encourages community members to raise their voices, share their stories, and truly be listened to.”