SLU staff and students hope to raise awareness about many issues on campus during Diversity and Inclusion Week. Beginning March 2, there will be a variety of events hoping to address the variety of people at SLU. This year’s theme is Conversation, Contemplation, Celebration.
Kimberly Flint-Hamilton, the Associate Dean of Diversity and Inclusion, says one goal of the week is to find ways people can become more inclusive by learning from others.
There are many workshops during the week to connect people all over campus, such as “Whiteness and the Complexity of Antiracist Allyship” on Tuesday, and Tea Time with the I-House Lounge on Wednesday. “We sought programs which will: foster conversations, encourage individual contemplation and encourage celebration,” Flint-Hamilton said.
Flint-Hamilton notices there is a lot of diversity on campus, ranging of racial diversity, nationality, gender identity, sexual orientation and more. “Each and every person begins a unique perspective based on their own experiences,” she said. She also sees lots of students who are dedicated to making SLU even more inclusive.
There is one challenge Flint-Hamilton also acknowledged about diversity at SLU. “People sometimes are reluctant to engage with difference,” she said. “It’s hard to venture outside of one’s comfort zone and people are often afraid that they will say the wrong thing.” However, Diversity and Inclusion Week hopes to give people a chance to ask questions and learn from others.
Student clubs on campus are also getting involved. ONE, a social justice organization at SLU, is putting together an informational board on aspects of extreme poverty around the world. “We hope to engage SLU students to reflect with us what extreme poverty means to them because it touches on all aspects of human experience,” says Svetlana Kononenko ’21. They are also hosting a speaker on Monday to discuss international advocacy. “The power of ONE is to bring various people of diverse backgrounds together based on a common goal” Kononenko and Floor Fiers ‘19 say.
To continue diversity on campus, they encourage students to attend events. “We believe that the best way to become aware of diversity around you is to reduce your daily tendency to generalize based on brief observations,” the two also said.Advocates, Carefree Black Girls, and Spectrum are hosting a trivia night in Pub 56 on Wednesday. “We want to show that sexual assault affects everyone and every group in different ways,” Audrey DeBritz ‘20 says.
This night hopes to highlight intersectionality in harassment, and Advocates, as a group, hopes to work on its own diversity and inclusion. Flint-Hamilton encourages students to remain involved all year long.
“Students can take a class that focuses on an aspect of diversity and inclusion, join a student organization,” she says. “And learn to be an ally – talk with people who are different from you, learn about their backgrounds and experiences, and find ways to make SLU more inclusive starting with things you can do as an individual.”
Flint-Hamilton also invites students to her office in Room 333 of the Student Center.