Cabrini strives to foster an inclusive and competent campus
When walking the Cabrini campus each morning, does it feel that the campus is inclusive of all races?
According to a recent Twitter poll, 59 percent of students said they feel that Cabrini is only somewhat inclusive of all races.
Zykierah’ Dennis, freshman criminology and psychol- ogy double major, said she does see a divide in the races at Cabrini.
“Many of their own race stay with people of their own race,” Dennis said. “I just think we all need to loosen up a bit and see each other as people and not by the color of our skin.”
“I feel like a lot of students [at Cabrini] do not accept people who are of different races,” Melissa Matsanka, junior, pre-k to four education major, said. “I believe that this is due to judgments and biases that they grew up with.”
Stephine Reed, the director of the student diversity initiatives, defines racial inclusivity as being more inclusive of our differences on campus including racial differences. She points out that the phrase can often be ambiguous because we are having much less racial disparity on campus.
Reed explains that minorities on campus are shifting and because of that, she believes using the term “race inclusivity” is more a thing of the past.
“But we still have to make efforts to be more inclusive on campus in our teaching, and in the way we have programs and services and then in the way we interact with each other,” Reed said.
The college has worked hard and continues to work hard at making the campus more inclusive of all types of students. Having a diverse campus calls for understanding cultural differences so that students can work together in classes and respect one another.
“Cultural competence is when people become more knowledgeable and aware of other cultures outside of their own cultural identity then they are able to apply skills to include other cultures in the way that they do business in life,” Reed said.
Matsanka believes that cultural competence is very important and it is often a topic that is mentioned in her education classes.
“In my education classes, we have learned a lot about being mindful of the differences of our students,” Matsanka said. “We call it ‘culturally responsive teaching.’ I have learned a lot about how to be respectful towards all races as a teacher and how to teach my students to value diversity.”
A new club called, “Spectrum” that Dennis is a part of is run through the student diversity office. The club members believe that cultural competence and inclusivity of all types on campus is very important.
“As an LGBTQ+ group, we believe that there should be no judgement. People come the way they are,” Dennis said. “We are here with open arms and ears for any type of discussion. People from all different races, genders and ethnicities can always come and have conversations with us.”
Reed explains that there is never an end point to cultural competence. It is a cycle that can constantly be worked on and improved as times change.
“For us at Cabrini, instead of trying to maybe become competent culturally, we should focus on having a social justice mind and having a mind and a spirit and behaviors that stem from being equity minded in the pursuit of justice,” Reed said.
