This past spring, we saw colleges across the country standing up for diversity. This all started because students at the University of Missouri decided to take a stand. Students were tired of the racist environment around them, and this stand and call to action inspired us all.

So when other students and I started to work on issues on diversity at our school, we knew we were in for a challenge. We had a speakout where we invited students from across the entire university to come, listen and talk about diversity issues that we have been facing on our campus. Our students spoke of issues that they have faced, including inadequate diverse staff and faculty, a need for
diversity and inclusion training for all employees and students on campus, and other issues expressed in our list of student demands. But these issues are ones that faculty and students have been fighting behind the scenes for years.

These issues that the students and members of the Loyola faculty have been trying to express are upsetting. It is also why I get upset at people critiquing us by saying we went straight to demands and issued a threat of protest. We didn’t need to have a sit down discussion with the University President Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J. and beg him for change. We needed to have a sit down conversation and let him know that we meant everything that we said. As students have constantly said – and the recent vote of no confidence makes it abundantly clear – we do not have faith in Wildes.

The demands that we’re asking for had to be conveyed and expressed in the manner we did. The administration has not been listening to student concerns for a long time now. So we felt it was the best option for us as student leaders. We needed to be honest with Wildes and the administration in our vision for improving diversity efforts. We’re here to make change on this campus. Criticize us for many things, but we know our strategy had to be implemented.
We know this because right now we’re still talking to the administration about the Chief Diversity Officer. We’re happy about the CDO, but we don’t want anyone to get confused. The CDO is a great stepping stone, but it is only one part of our mission. We know that this is a process, but we want to make sure that people understand that a CDO doesn’t just solve all of our concerns. We haven’t even scratched the surface of the issues that we’ve expressed. There are many things that the university could be doing right now to improve diversity on our campus.
They shouldn’t drag their feet just because we’re still talking about the CDO. We’ve proposed a good way to improve our school. I just hope the administration is ready to move steadfast with us and continue in an earnest attempt to improve our great institution.