UWO relocates, strengthens advocacy for students of diverse backgrounds, needs
Diversity, equity, and inclusion: three words theoretically wrapped within the human experience. People are bound to be diverse, and it is only basic human kindness that they show equity and inclusion toward one another. However, these words have taken on different meanings and connotations in the polarized political climate of contemporary America. Local educators are doing what they can to resist such polarization in the name of helping students.
Recently, the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh’s (UWO) diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) building has been sold, but that does not take away from the university’s persistent dedication to inclusivity on campus. In fact, the relocation of the building may foster a stronger sense of inclusion, according to UWO’s director of the Center of Student Success and Belonging, Byron Adams.
“Last year, in late summer and fall, UWO relocated the Center for Student Success and Belonging staff from the former Center for Equity and Diversity on the eastern edge of the campus to Reeve Memorial Union, a vibrant, more centrally located, higher-student-traffic space open to all on campus,” he said. “The new engagement space in Reeve Union is called The Hub. The relocation was a long overdue opportunity to locate our student support services centrally on campus.”
Adams also speaks to future places of inclusivity on campus.
“We are also in the process of upgrades to the UWO Multicultural Education Center on Algoma Boulevard. The Center for Student Success and Belonging plans to help UWO rededicate and reopen that revitalized facility in the spring semester ahead,” he said.
Some resources that the previous building offered students include educational access, student success initiatives and programs, as well as overall community engagement opportunities. Adams affirms that these resources are not gone, but in a different part of campus.
“UWO students used the space for learning groups, meetings with academic advisors and mentors, student organization meetings, cultural celebration gatherings, and student orientations and training,” he said. “These services are now offered in the Reeve Memorial Union and Dempsey Hall spaces.”
Certain issues surrounding DEI and the resources that it may provide have stirred up contention regarding the shifted location of the building. Current politics had nothing to do with the previous building’s relocation, according to Adams.
“People think we are selling the facility because of current national events surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion. This couldn’t be further from the truth,” he said. “ We had already planned to sell the facility well before the current events. The timing of the selling of the building is purely coincidental.”
Part of the debate surrounding DEI is driven by a sense of unfairness for those who the resources do not benefit. DEI is not meant to create favoritism, but equality, according to Kaileigh Larson, a sophomore at UWO.
“The goal of DEI is not to make things easier for these people than it is for others,” she said. “The goal of DEI is to make sure our professional and academic systems support the growth of all people and make it so that anyone who decides they want an education isn’t held back by limitations they don’t have control over.”
Larson has observed firsthand the importance of DEI outlets on campus.
“I know many people that have gone there for assistance with many challenges that had previously hindered their success in school. DEI is a vital part of our campus,” she said. “Learning is not a privilege. Learning is a right and anyone who wants to attend the university should be able to.”
DEI helps unite people from all parts of the globe, according to Larson.
“Without inclusive world views we risk bias, stereotypes, and repetitions of history’s mistakes,” she said. “DEI brings students of all backgrounds and abilities together.”
by Anika Flores
Published on February 24 2024
Oshkosh West Index Volume 121 Issue V