For students tired of feeling quieted, believing the conversations around diversity and inclusion on campus only lead to promises that are not being addressed; to the Spartans that don’t believe they have a voice that’s heard calling for change, I hear you.
In this moment, emotions run high as many are working together to make a difference in our society, including, but not limited to the community of East Lansing. We are often blind to our own reality. That blindness causes us to believe in a status quo that is not universal. We have a unique opportunity to challenge these realities through the nature of our diverse community. The variety of traditions and cultures at Michigan State make even every-day ongoing interactions more enriched and unique.
We all have an obligation to listen to perspectives other than our own. Hate crimes and the bias incidents that go unnoticed are among the experiences that many of us will never endure, but for some Spartans, these are regrettably a part of their every-day reality. These are all things that we can help to address and change with a willingness to communicate with empathy and urgency.
Having been at the last few MSU town hall discussions as a result of events at universities across our nation, I’ve been able to gather a sample of the emotions, unrest and unfairness our fellow Spartans are experiencing. We must be mindful of born biases that we have, and reconsider how we act upon these biases. This must be the first step for creating an environment that is inclusive and equal for all regardless of background, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity, to name a few.
On behalf of the student body at Michigan State, I believe this issue to be of utmost importance and I am working with other student leaders to address concerns raised throughout the town halls. These conversations have included such topics around diversity and inclusion spanning from admission processes to our actions in the classrooms. This January, there will be a round-table discussion with our CORES and COPS groups to discuss the needs that will shape the diversity and inclusion training students will be required to partake in in the near future. Students across campus play an essential role to make recommendations to our administration in these efforts to educate our student body.
What our openness truly reflects upon is our individual character. This openness is a characteristic all Spartans should aspire to embody. Now more than ever, Spartans of character are taking action to make change for a greater tomorrow. In the current state of the world we can all agree more of these efforts are needed.
Lorenzo Santavicca is the Vice President of Academic Affairs at ASMSU. Reach Lorenzo at vpaa@asmsu.msu.edu
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