Sacred Heart University has been actively making changes on campus to educate the community and better accommodate students of color and otherwise underrepresented students.
“I think SHU is taking steps in the right direction, but there is still a whole staircase for them to climb,” said junior Divalee Iglesias.
One aspect of the change on campus is the creation of the Bias Response Team, which was formed this year to improve respective inclusivity on campus.
“The Bias Response Team is responsible for looking at instances of bias and addressing them not in a punitive manner, but in a manner that educates the perpetrator(s) of the bias and supports healing of the affected parties,” said Julie Lawrence, Chief Diversity Officer at Sacred Heart.
The Bias Response Team is looking to improve the quality of academic programs, student life, and overall cultural climate. Reports of bias can be made through the response form available on their website.
The form, which can be filled out anonymously, will inform the school of mistreatment of students on- or off-campus. They then take these submissions, review them, and respond appropriately, which can include referral to the appropriate university authority for reflective response up to and including disciplinary proceedings.
According to Lawrence, not a lot of people have filled out bias response forms. This may not be from the absence of bias on campus, but a lack of promotion by Sacred Heart.
“Resources like the SHU Bias Response Team should be promoted more in emails and the posters around campus,” said sophomore Sonya Smith. “So that students who are ignorant of such a necessary resource like this can get the assistance they’re looking for.”
The Bias Response Team is currently working on ways to foster additional conversation on these issues. The Office for Diversity and Inclusion is delivering bias training to employees and students as well as training fellow teachers to work on an inclusive teaching curriculum.
Director of Multicultural Affairs Robert Johnson acts as an advocate for the underrepresented students at Sacred Heart. He works in the new Multicultural Center, offering support to these students and working to create more multicultural organizations.
As an alumnus, Johnson understands how underrepresented students can feel on campus, and he is not only available to support them through their college experience, but also to help the student body support them.
“People don’t always consider the experience of a student who is in a wheelchair or a student whose family just lost their house,” said Johnson. “I think it’s extremely important for our general population to understand those things, not at surface level, but a deeper level.”
He wants students to be able to visit the Multicultural Center, feel like themselves culturally, and not feel like they need to assimilate or conform to the culture on campus.
“As a student of color, an LGBTQ+ student, a student with a disability, you have to wear a mask when you’re on our campus,” said Johnson, “And I’m not talking about a COVID mask.”
Both Lawrence and Johnson agree that this is just the beginning and there is a lot of work for everyone, but their current goal is to open these topics up for healthy discussion on campus.
“We tend to not want to talk about race or inclusivity because of other people’s feelings and making other people feel uncomfortable, but we need to have those uncomfortable conversations to learn,” said Johnson. “Be ready to get uncomfortable, be ready to educate yourself, and be open-minded.”
