Former ACE executive board members failed to follow the ACE constitution. Racial bias was present during the Spring 2017 ACE presidential elections and ACE members discriminated against minority groups on campus. The leadership not only violated the ACE constitution, but also showed disregard for our social norms and values.

As a community, St. Lawrence University will not tolerate any discrimination or racial bias-related behavior in regards to race, religion, gender or sexual orientation, ethnicity, nationality and national origin, political or social affiliation, or disability. St. Lawrence University policy clearly states that all members of the community, either student or employee, should be free from all forms of discrimination and discriminatory harassment.

The ACE executive board is asking itself this very important question: how can we make everyone feel included? ACE believes that groups that have rich diversity are more productive and effective, and that growth requires getting out of our comfort zones and adapting to something new.

The current executive board is planning to implement programs that will promote and take action towards diversity and inclusion across campus. This environment will help students experience cultural immersion, build relationships, and offer opportunities for all groups to explore and learn about others’ culture and customs, as well as learn to see their own culture through a different lens. These mutual experiences will help the students to develop valuable life skills and appreciation for other cultures and customs.

So what is ACE doing to change its pre-existing organizational culture? The current ACE executive board and all officers are constantly working with clubs and organizations to provide the best services possible. ACE is doing its best to serve the student body, and is assisting clubs and organizations with their events and advertisements. ACE members are even offering their assistance to volunteer at events. In addition, on Monday, Oct. 22, 2018, all ACE officers participated in diversity and inclusion training. Most importantly, ACE is trying to co-sponsor more small clubs and organizations on campus.

On Monday, Nov. 5, 2018, the ACE executive board held a meeting with the Java House to expand their outreach across campus. From now on, ACE will assist Java House in making sure that diverse bands will be coming to play in the Java Barn. ACE will also help Java in other ways, such as making more advertising and posters, helping to create a website and possibly making a polling system for bands, etc.

For example, last year Java hosted the first annual Melon Fest music and art festival in collaboration with the Artist Guild. This year Java hosted the Battle of the Islands with BSU, a silent rave with CASL and they are also hosting a poetry night with Advocates and La Casa for Purple Week. ACE is continuing to work alongside the Java House in these events. The Java House sees the importance of inclusivity on campus and they will continue to be open to collaboration with clubs and organizations on campus to host events at the Java Barn.

ACE believes that students deserve to know how and where SLUSAF funds are being spent. ACE continues to provide financial support for events and activities by clubs and organizations such as Planned Parenthood Generation Action, the International House, Spectrum, La Sociedad Hispanica, the Barista, and the Thelomathesian Society Diversity and Inclusion Committee. A collaboration between Thelmo, Spectrum and ACE is what brought storyteller and model, Arielle Scott (Ari Fitz), to campus on Oct. 12, 2018. Ari Fitz delivered a talk about discovering identities and being comfortable with who you are. To host this event ACE contributed $2,500.

So how does the budget stand? For 2018-2019, the full academic budget is shown in the table below. The “total budget” shows the amount each ACE chair started with. The total spent shown is the amount of money spent since July 1, 2018, to the present by each subdivision of the ACE budget. The “remaining balance” section shows the total funds that are still available in each subdivision of the ACE budget.

All ACE officers are working closely with St. Lawrence community and student body, but we cannot do it alone. It will take all of us to improve the quality of our community. A better tomorrow depends on a better society, and a better society depends on everyone. ACE is also open to any and all of your questions, comments and suggestions.