Inclusive Illinois needs to increase visibility, accessibility

Inclusive+Illinois+needs+to+increase+visibility%2C+accessibility

By Sehar Siddiqui

In light of recent events this semester such as the tweets toward Chancellor Phyllis Wise and the ongoing debate about the controversial Chief Illiniwek symbol, appreciating diversity and promoting an inclusive environment at the University is becoming increasingly important.

The University acknowledged and reiterated this importance last week through Inclusive Illinois Week.

For those of you who don’t know, the origins of Inclusive Illinois began in 2007 as the Office of Equal Opportunity and Access reexamined its Campus Conduct: our campus, our culture (2000) program. Since then, the University community aims to ensure that everyone’s voice is heard and that people of all walks of life are included and celebrated by the University.

Inclusive Illinois manages to have an honorable mission and plans various events that fit its goals to promote diversity and inclusivity, but important considerations still need to be made when taking into account the importance of education and awareness on campus.

As any program that sets off to achieve diversity and inclusivity, a clear and comprehensive goal should be set in place.

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The Inclusive Illinois site clearly states its mission as “the University’s commitment to cultivating a community at Illinois where everyone is welcomed, celebrated, and respected. Through education, engagement, and excellence, each voice creates the Inclusive Illinois Experience.”

A clearly stated goal or mission is important because it aids in planning and lends organization to a program. Additionally, the clearly stated mission holds Inclusive Illinois accountable for what it says it’s going to do.

Inclusive Illinois’s mission statement is honorable in that it encourages acceptance of all types of people, urges all populations to raise their voice and promotes dialogue.

At a university as diverse as ours, rated as one of the most “disability friendly” campuses in the U.S. and boasting 8,909 international students this spring, the characteristics of a program trying to promote diversity and inclusivity are extremely important.

As issues of diversity can be sensitive and difficult to talk about, a program that encourages everyone to speak up in a safe, accepting environment is integral to ensuring that everyone feels comfortable enough to talk about touchy issues that need to be addressed in the community.

Additionally, Inclusive Illinois has many events that stay true to their mission statement including the various activities from Inclusive Illinois Week.

The #ManyVoices Campus Conversations that occurred last Monday gave students and other members of the University the opportunity to share their thoughts about the University community.

This event holds true to the mission’s goal of providing everyone with a voice.

Another event from last week, Celebration of Women, appreciated the achievements and accomplishments of women at the University through various art forms.

Although Inclusive Illinois Week held multiple events that accurately addressed their goals, the individuals who attended these occasions were most likely those who were already passionate about diversity and inclusivity, and while this is not necessarily a bad thing, it’s important to also reach out and affect individuals who might not know much about diversity or who don’t really care about it in the first place.

In the short term, Inclusive Illinois could hold more events on the Quad — a highly trafficked area — to educate and reach out to a higher number of students.

Additionally, although the University no longer associates with the Chief, it is still pervasive throughout campus and brings offense to students nonetheless.

Widespread imagery depicting the Chief causes discomfort to some students and may prevent them from feeling comfortable enough to agree that the University environment is inclusive and sensitive to their beliefs and backgrounds.

Although students can practice freedom of expression and wear whatever they want, it’s difficult for our University to push ideals of inclusivity when reminders of the Chief are everywhere and upsetting to students. And clearly this is not the only issue of inclusivity on campus, as we saw with the Chancellor Wise Twitter debacle.

Inclusive Illinois should make itself more visible and accessible when it comes to educating and spreading the word about the Chief and other sensitive issues on campus that maybe people just don’t know enough about.

The mission of Inclusive Illinois is a valuable one and we should aim to uphold its message to create a more comfortable environment for all students, faculty and staff.

Sehar is a junior in LAS. She can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @Nimatod.