Adam Smith in his column Wednesday, “I-Connect, ACE IT half-hearted attempts to fix real problems,” argues that workshops like I-Connect and ACE IT are “futile” attempts to address “real problems.” 

I am an I-Connect facilitator, and I argue that the workshops are futile only when the participants choose to be disengaged. Smith discredits his own experience with the following statement about ACE IT: “It was supposed to educate us about an obviously pressing issue. Instead, most of my peers, myself included, browsed Facebook on their phones until the programs were done.” 

The closing line of his article made me realize that Mr. Smith was feeling marginalized in a way that the I-Connect Diversity and Inclusion workshops work to alleviate. 

He wraps up his long-winded argument about the inevitability of exclusion, divides and binge-drinking at the University declaring, “In the eyes of the administration, we’re really nothing more than UINs and bills receivable.” I believe in I-Connect’s mission to foster inclusion, which is why I put my whole-heart into every workshop I facilitate. 

However, I can’t do all of the work. Participants need to truly participate, which means putting away phones and being open to the experience. If you’re feeling marginalized as just a UIN or a bill receivable, Mr. Smith, I ask that you take a more pragmatic approach to getting your identity back. Participate in worthy efforts like I-Connect; I can say with almost certainty that it will be more substantive than your Facebook feed. Fill out the email we send you with constructive criticism about I-Connect. Tell us what we did wrong and what we did right, because we do care. 

Part of inclusion is being open, Mr. Smith, and it sounds like you had already shut down before your workshop had even began.

Natasha Gaydos,

I-Connect facilitator and junior in LAS