Do you think Sacred Heart University is a diverse campus?
“Although I think that SHU has made initiatives toward making diversity and inclusivity more prominent, it does not have a diverse campus,” said junior Kristine Udahl. “If you look at the statistics of the ethnic diversity of the campus, you see that well over half of the population identifies as white.”
According to Niche.com, 71% of the students on Sacred Heart’s campus are white, 10% are Hispanic, 5% are African American and 2% are Asian.
Other students say they have seen Sacred Heart grow into a fairly diverse campus over the years.
“I feel confident in saying that over my four years here, I have seen growth in diversity and efforts to promote diversity on our campus,” said senior Kolby Driscoll.
Similar to Driscoll, other students say that Sacred Heart has taken efforts to become a more diverse campus.
“I believe SHU has made significant strides with inclusivity initiatives in the past year with the implementation of the Multicultural Center because now underrepresented students have a place where they can be heard and accounted for,” Udahl said.
According to the Sacred Heart website, the Multicultural Center was established in September 2020 to connect and create a sense of community for underrepresented students by promoting cultural exchange and enrichment among students of diverse backgrounds.
The Multicultural Center seeks to foster open dialogue on inclusivity, ensuring a welcoming environment for people of all backgrounds while amplifying underrepresented voices within the community.
“It’s important to continue these conversations of diversity and acceptance,” said Rob Johnson, Director of the Multicultural Center. “We’re doing okay, but we have a lot of work to do, and just because there’s a Multicultural Center on campus doesn’t mean the work stops.”
Some students say that underrepresented students are able to feel comfortable and involved within the community through the vast number of extracurricular activities.
“I do feel like SHU has done a good job of letting minorities be heard, whether it be through clubs or organizations,” said sophomore Jordan Griffin.
Some students say they have never felt uninvited on campus due to their race.
“Even though the school has a wide majority of a single race, no one has ever made me feel uncomfortable or unwelcomed at SHU,” said freshman and Multicultural Chair of Phi Sigma Sigma, Sage Thomas.
On March 1, Dr. John Petillo, president of Sacred Heart, sent out an email with the subject “Respect and Inclusion.” In it, he wrote that within the past few weeks, reports of hate speech had been noted both verbally and written against members of the LGBTQ+ and Jewish communities.
Petillo emphasized that this behavior is unacceptable, and it goes against Sacred Heart’s mission to recognize the value and dignity of every human being.
“I believe that Dr. Petillo handled the situation well,” said Driscoll. “I appreciate the efforts made by him when responding to an issue like this, and I will always encourage him and other university officials to remain consistent when dealing with these types of issues.”
Many say that Sacred Heart has made efforts to implement diversity and inclusion within the community.
“I worked with chief diversity officer Julie Lawrence to implement diversity and inclusion training that students have access to on their Blackboard,” said Johnson. “I also have conducted collaborative events and social identity training with organizations on campus like Greek Life and the Gender and Sexuality Alliance.”
Some students say they have praised the action the university has taken in light of this incident.
“I think Sacred Heart has been very good with being inclusive through the guest speakers, all of the different clubs for all different types of people and always sending out emails about issues going on in the world,” said Thomas.
Many students say that the university should take further measures to make sure underrepresented students feel comfortable.
“I think actions speak louder than words, so I think it’s great that the school isn’t just preaching about diversity, but continuing to show people of color that they are welcomed and are represented equally,” said senior Ryan Bradley.
According to an email sent out by the student government, Sacred Heart has a silent witness program for reporting incidents of racism, discrimination or hate, as well as a bias response team.
“As a university, if we could address these gaps and divides within our community as well as acknowledged privilege, we could bridge the gap,” said Johnson. “But the work never stops.”
