“What can the University of Portland do to improve diversity and inclusion on campus?”
This was the question that guided the Presidential Advisory Committee on Inclusion Listening Session on Wednesday night in The Commons.
About 40 students and staff attended the forum in hopes of not only vocally addressing diversity and inclusion issues on campus, but also taking action to make actual changes. Some students, though, left the night feeling discontent.
University President Fr. Mark Poorman created the Presidential Advisory Committee on Inclusion last spring after concerns about racial and other types of inclusion became an topic of conversation across campus.
The session began with the introduction of the three panelists and committee members: engineering professor Olivia Coiado, business professor Mike Eom and junior engineering major Mika Aga. Each of the panelists gave a brief story about their lives in terms of diversity.
Studies Abroad Director Eduardo Contreras, also part of the committee, discussed the results of a small survey sent out to a few students prior the discussion, as well as a live survey from the audience. The results of the live survey were shown anonymously on the screen.
When asked to describe the community and diversity at UP, the most common answer from the audience was “lacking” and “exclusive,” while some related answers were “false,” “fake” and “framed”. Respondents said they feel it is “framed” or “fake” because of the image of diversity that UP constructs on its social media platforms, website and in promotional videos.
Students expressed concerns not only with UP's lack of racial diversity, but also its lack of inclusivity when it comes to non-binary and other minority students.
The panel stayed mostly quiet as students shared their concerns and suggested solutions in an open-mic format. Possible solutions included the creation of a diversity and equity office, a multicultural center and more diversity courses and workshops.
Senior political science major Jenna Kunz, a member of the WakeUP coalition, said she thinks the University should acknowledge diversity and inclusion issues not only through emails from administration, but through speedy actions and changes.
“UP should create the infrastructure to enhance a more diverse student body such as a multicultural center, so that clubs and organizations, like-minded people, could gather and build a community and be involved in something bigger,” Kunz said.
Kunz also emphasized the need for channels to connect students and administration, so that students who feel they are being marginalized can have access to resources and can be reassured that they are being heard, acknowledged and that their “presence on campus matters.”
In the fall, Poorman proposed a five-year plan that aims to diversify the student body, faculty and staff, as well as develop campus resources and infrastructure dedicated to diversity and inclusion. However, students at the event highlighted the need for additional transparency within the University.
Sophomore political science and philosophy major Sitara Nath says she was not aware of Poorman’s plan “Vision 2020” until just a few days ago.
“It is the responsibility of the administration to figure out an effective way of communicating with students, because it really helps for us to know that there is concrete action being taken,” Nath said.
While many students appreciated the opportunity to share their concerns with some committee members, for others, it was those committee members not in attendance who made the biggest statement. Students at the event told the audience that they felt undervalued because not all of the committee members attended, and because they had been making similar requests for months.
Junior civil engineering major Mohammed Bakhsh says he came to the event without high expectations because he knew that it was going to “be the same thing” as previous years. He says he’s attended similar events with the same comments in the past, but has yet to see the kind of change he hopes for.
“Can we please see change? This isn’t really change,” Bakhsh said. “I appreciate what the (committee) is doing, but it’s also the same people every time, not everyone in the committee or the administration shows up.”
Bakhsh says he wants student voices to be heard instead of feeling frustrated, dissatisfied and disappointed with results. Like many students at Wednesday’s event, he wants the University to be transparent in their efforts to create tangible improvements on campus, instead, he says, of always asking students to answer the same question: “What can the University do?”
