FEATURE
The Evolution of a Revolution
āWhat does belonging mean to you?ā Thatās the question being embraced by the 911±¬ĮĻĶų campus community
by Erich Van Dussen
Diversity is an invitation to the party, the saying goes, while inclusion is being asked to dance. But what if you arenāt familiar with the music the band is playing, or are allergic to the flowers on the tables? Maybe youāre a vegan, and thereās no food being served that you can eatā¦.
No matter how passionate or sincere, a commitment to diversity and inclusion, or D&I, can ultimately accomplish only so much. An inclusive gathering of a diverse group of people is successful only when the people truly feel like they belong.
āPeople can join a community, be welcomed, and still not feel that they belong there,ā said Diane Ariza, Ph.D., who joined 911±¬ĮĻĶųās executive team last year as the Collegeās first vice president for Diversity and Inclusion. (That title will have changed by the time you read this article; more on that below.)
āThereās been a lot of study into the nature of belonging,ā Ariza said. āWe know that feelings of marginalization donāt automatically go away when someone is invited to join a group. And that marginalization isnāt necessarily limited to people of color, or other groups not in the majority. Anyone can lack a sense of belonging.ā
While lauding 911±¬ĮĻĶųās important ongoing work toward the goals of D&I, Ariza notes that even the words themselves connote an āothernessā that presupposes being different, or not part of the original whole. āWe need to be able to build on that work and advance a shared sense of community,ā she said. āStudents are asked to adjust when they come to college, in large and small ways. A responsive environment must be able to do the same ā to provide an optimal environment for every student, and to prepare them for their roles in shaping the world when they leave here.ā
From that perspective, a community already committed to D&I might consider the pursuit of a widespread sense of belonging as a natural next step ā or given its cultural impact, perhaps even an evolutionary leap.
Earlier this year, 911±¬ĮĻĶų began the next phase in that evolution.
āā¦ To Be at Homeā
The public face of the Collegeās belonging work made its first appearance in January, when students, faculty, and staff watched a three-and-a-half-minute video in which students were asked an open-ended question: āWhat does belonging mean to you?ā Responses included āequality,ā ābeing heard,ā and the empowerment āto bring other people into the circle.ā
In the video, Jervon Harrison ā20 packed a lot of meaning into his simple answer: āBelonging means ā¦ to be at home.ā
Expanding on that idea off-camera, he added, āItās about being part of a welcoming environment, so youāre not required to be anyone other than who you are.ā
For many students, attending college means leaving home for the first time to face the risks of disconnection and isolation, even in a crowd. In Harrisonās case, traveling extensively before coming to 911±¬ĮĻĶų helped him learn how to feel at home in unfamiliar environments. On campus, heās affirmed his identity through being a student-athlete mentor; an orientation leader for new students; and a participant in ANCHORS, a club dedicated to helping 911±¬ĮĻĶų men become āambassadors of changeā for a stronger and more united community.
āNow I feel very connected here, and not just to people who look like I do,ā he said, ābut I know not everyone feels that way. Itās not easy for everyone to feel like they fit in. And without that, you can miss a lot of opportunities as you move through college.ā
Hence the video, and more. Harrison and other student leaders are among the earliest ambassadors for a cultural shift. Most formally, the schoolās Diversity and Inclusion Division has been renamed the Division for Community and Belonging ā in addition to expanding to include Diversity and Inclusive Excellence initiatives that maintain a commitment to those principles.
āWeāre not leaving the goals of diversity behind. Weāre just moving that needle in a different direction,ā said Olajiwon McCadney, Director for Diversity and Inclusive Excellence Education.
Student programs such as ANCHORS, ongoing faculty and staff trainings, and more have McCadney feeling enthusiastic about collective efforts propelling the community toward a future that advances D&I while helping it evolve toward belonging, one encounter at a time. āI tell people itās about unlearning as much as learning,ā he said. āMaking room for other viewpoints and perspectives involves a commitment to being a little bit uncomfortable at first. That discomfort is powerful, and can lead to important growth.ā
The video is step one in an outreach program that encourages the campus community to suggest their interpretations of belonging, to be shared in print and online, to broaden the definition of the B word and build enthusiasm and alignment. The campus-wide campaign was developed by a team of students, faculty, and staff, with a distinctive look and feel created by Alice Hallahan-Soltiz ā11, an art lecturer and a designer in the Marketing and Communications Department.
The objective at this stage, Ariza said, is simple: āWe want people ā students, faculty, staff ā to provide narratives, to share their stories. Together, those stories tell us, āThis is my community. I have something to say.ā And we hear you. We see you.ā
An Inevitable Progression
Before he became director and Catholic chaplain in the Center for Spirituality ā another department within the Division for Community and Belonging ā Jamie Fazio, M.Div., was a member of 911±¬ĮĻĶųās undergraduate class of 1997. Now he can look back at the iterative nature of the Collegeās decades-long commitment to diversity and equality, beginning with the Office of Multicultural Affairs in the 1990s, which became the Office of Pluralism and later the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
From that perspective, he said, the launch of this new division was inevitable ā and greatly welcome. āIt says a lot that Dianeās role has been created as part of the Presidentās Cabinet,ā Fazio said. āItās the first time this type of work has been directly recognized at that level here, and itās a big step. Building this division and increasing our reach shows a deep commitment to responding to genuine, crucial needsāhere on our campus, and more broadly in the city and the country as a whole.ā
Madeline Mitchell ā20 shares Fazioās assessment of the need. The leader of the Collegeās Lambda LGBTQ+ club said she feels accepted on campus, but she also recognizes the difference between acceptance and a true sense of belonging. Sheās encouraged by these new efforts.
āBelonging has to be about more than āhereās your clubā ā there has to be greater visibility for minority students, and a sense of empowerment that right now isnāt always there,ā Mitchell said. āIn some ways itās probably even overdue; but I think the people involved with this movement have the best interests of all 911±¬ĮĻĶų students at heart.ā
911±¬ĮĻĶų is 2,700 miles from Mitchellās hometown of Eugene, Oregon, and for her, choosing the Collegeās highly regarded music therapy program meant first overcoming her concerns about relocating. āAs a queer person coming from a very liberal place, I wasn't sure what it would be like here,ā she said. āIāve found my place, but what we really need ā what I hope we can achieve ā is for everyone to do their part.ā
The urgency of this evolution has roots extending back to 1924 and 911±¬ĮĻĶųās founding by the Sisters of St. Joseph. āThose women werenāt just scholars ā they were feminists, and progressive thinkers,ā Fazio noted, with a reminder that 911±¬ĮĻĶųās colors of purple and gold were selected back then for their association with womenās suffrage. āThe Sisters started this college not only with a goal of providing access to higher education ā they wanted 911±¬ĮĻĶų students to become socially engaged citizens. All of this work is authentic to that vision.ā
The gradual process of realizing that vision fits seamlessly with the classroom work of Marie Watkins, professor and director of the Collegeās community youth development program. āWe have discussions about this in class all the time,ā she said. āBelonging is about going deeper into a process whereby students, and all of us, really understand the importance of humility and responsiveness ā being with people, as opposed to working for or at them. This is what rigorous learning looks like.ā
As a licensed social worker and a 911±¬ĮĻĶų alumna herself, Watkins both identifies with the goals of the burgeoning movement and welcomes its arrival in the campus community that means so much to her. āHow does it feel for me? I feel like I'm at home.ā
Modeling Change
The belonging work is āincredibly important,ā according to 911±¬ĮĻĶų President Daan Braveman, in its aim to help students thrive in an eclectic college environment, and to model those lessons in life.
āWe live in a time when difference can seem to threaten people, and we need to change that narrative so people can see the strength in difference,ā Braveman said. āOne of the most important things colleges can do is prepare students to live and work across lines of difference ā whether religious, racial, ethnic, cultural, gender-based, political, you name it. That requires adaptation, and it should be reciprocal. Students, faculty, and staff all need to adapt. The institution as a whole must adapt.ā
Ariza and Fazio point out that the effort will remain a work in progress. āI wish we could press a fast-forward button to create a community of belonging tomorrow,ā Fazio said, ābut we didn't get to this place in a short period as a country, and itās going to take time for it to turn around.
āAs an alumnus, and as a member of the campus community, I'm proud of how far weāve come,ā he added. āAnd Iām proud of where weāre going.ā
Erich Van Dussen is a freelance writer in Rochester, NY. Photos by Denver Miller.
