Last Friday, February 28, St. Lawrence University kickstarted its third annual Diversity and Inclusion Week. The series, running from February 28 to March 7, consists of events hosted by faculty, staff and student organizations on campus to celebrate the rich backgrounds on campus and to have conversations about how the community can better foster inclusion. Like the previous two years, “Conversation, Contemplation, and Celebration” continues to be a guiding theme for the D&I committee as they organize and promote this series of events. 

“Though the programing of Diversity and Inclusion are happening throughout the year and not limited to this one week,” says Assistant Dean of Student Life & Director of Student Activities John Robert O’Connor, “having a specific week dedicated to Diversity and Inclusion allows us to give the floor to different departments and student groups to bring front programs that highlight and celebrate identities while providing contemplation and reflection.”

According to Kimberly Flint-Hamilton, Associated Dean of Diversity and Inclusion, the goal of the week includes foster conversations, encouraging individual contemplation and reflection on identity, and celebrating many aspects of intersectionality and diversity. “A diverse student body, faculty, staff, and curriculum are important indicators of excellence for an academic institution, so we need to learn to understand and engage diverse perspectives, approaches, and identities skillfully,” she says. “But diversity doesn’t work without inclusion. An inclusive community is one in which all members have a voice, have the opportunity to flourish and thrive, to be respected and valued, and to participate fully. This is what we aspire to at SLU.”

Flint-Hamilton also suggests that students look at the D&I calendar and choose to attend at least a few activities and discussions, either events they normally would not think to attend or events they are passionate about and would like to participate in the conversation. John Robert O’Connor agrees. “I would encourage students to look at the calendar and choose events that call them, events they are interested in, or events that they knew little about,” he says. “I think all events are worth participating, but many events are happening in one week, so the willingness to take time to join the community in this celebration is what counts.”

With COVID-19, the majoring of Diversity and Inclusion Week events will be hosted virtually on Zoom. Though the situation is not ideal, Tsewang Lama, Coordinator of International Students Services and D&I Committee Member, chose to look at the silver lining. “The virtual setting does allow us to be more creative,” she says. “The Racism 101 series or the video campaign by A.S.I.A club to address hate crimes towards the Asian community, these are some ideas that we would not have thought about if we were to host the D&I week in-person.”

On Friday, March 5, there will be eight events for students to choose from; one of those is a Lunch and Learn event where Dr. Jeffrey Frank and Grace Harkin ’21 talk about their Belonging Project and the importance of belonging, especially during this time. On Saturday, March 6, the Barista continues their First Saturday event with The Price is Right game night. On Sunday, March 7, there will be three events to talk about spirituality and religion, including Gospel Service by Dr. Shaun Whitehead, Interfaith Conversation, and Bible Club meeting. Other exciting events are listed on the posters around campus and on Presence. Flint-Hamilton also urges students to view the historical snippets about SLU and the North Country that are updated daily on the Presence portal. “The historical snippets function as a connection between the past and the present,” she says. “Through reflecting on what happened 60 or 70 years ago, we can celebrate the things we’ve done to raising awareness and building our community that includes people from underrepresented groups. It’s also an opportunity to ask ourselves what we should do better.”

Flint-Hamilton notes that students should actively involve themselves with the activities that they choose to go to and to walk away with a new level of awareness. “We are given opportunities to engage and learn more about the diversity of our community, of the world, and opportunities to have conversations,” she said. “We are not all born with cultural awareness skills, but these occasions are the tools for us to build them.”