Mission
The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Belonging supports students with historically marginalized identities, educates the community about and celebrates identity, and addresses structural inequity.
Working with students, faculty, staff and the greater community, this area promotes a culture prioritizing individual worth and interconnectedness. Our mission is realized through a number of events and activities exploring topics including but not limited to race/ethnicity, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, age, socioeconomic status, ability status, national origin and religion.
Title IX
The Dean of Students leads efforts in the area of Diversity, Equity and Belonging, and is the Title IX Coordinator. For more information about Title IX Sexual Harassment, Sexual Assault, Dating and Domestic Violence and Stalking, click here.
Diversity, Equity, Accessibility and Justice Initiatives
Intercultural Board
The Intercultural Board (IB) comprises leadership of multicultural clubs and organizations at Etown. The Board meets biweekly with the Dean of Students and Associate Director, and other members of administration as needed. Board members share information about events and activities their organizations are planning in the coming weeks, and provide useful feedback and support. This is also a time where student leadership shares feedback about campus climate.
Ujima Dialogue
Ujima Dialogue is a weekly, informal conversation about current diversity, equity, accessibility and justice topics. The conversation ocurrs on the same day and time each week, and a theme is announced within a few days prior on the Jays App. All students, faculty and staff are welcome to attend. Ujima is a prinicple of Kwanzaa that means "collective work and responsibility."
Mosaic Unbound
Once per month , the Office of Diversity, Equity and Belonging joins the High Library and the Bowers Writers House to host an informal conversation about a piece of literature further exploring topics related to diversity, equity, accessibility and justice. The literature will align with the heritage or history celebrated that month. Literature will generally be excerpted and available to participants in advance of the program. Mosaic Unbound is open to all students, faculty, and staff.
Safe Zone Training
The Office of Diversity, Equity and Belonging presents multiple safe zone trainings throughout the year utilizing The Safe Zone Project curriculum found here. The program offers participants education about LGBTQIA+ issues, creating a network of allyship at Etown. Safe zone training is open to students, faculty and staff. Initial training takes 2-2.5 hours. Follow-up sessions will be offered throughout the year for those participating in the initial training.
Beloved Community Collective
The Beloved Community Collective is Etown's celebration in honor of the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
As early as 1956, Dr. King spoke of The Beloved Community as the end goal of nonviolent boycotts. As he said in a speech at a victory rally following the announcement of a favorable U.S. Supreme Court Decision desegregating the seats on Montgomery’s busses, “the end is reconciliation; the end is redemption; the end is the creation of the Beloved Community. It is this type of spirit and this type of love that can transform opponents into friends. It is this type of understanding goodwill that will transform the deep gloom of the old age into the exuberant gladness of the new age. It is this love which will bring about miracles in the hearts of men.” - https://thekingcenter.org/king-philosophy/
The truest celebration of King now is to actualize his vision. Instead of King’s words being frozen in a moment in history, we shall come together and do the work . Instead of invoking King’s name in calling for peace and unity, the time is long overdue for intentional peacemaking. Diversity, Equity, and Belonging, the Center for Global Understanding and Peacebuilding, the Center for Community Engagement, and the Chaplain's Office collaborate to deliver the Beloved Community Collective as an opportunity to deepen our understanding of how we live well in community with one another by exploring themes of cultural competency, social justice and relationhsip with self and others. The BCC takes place in the beginning weeks of the spring semester, joining MLK Day and Black History Month.
Advocacy/ Support
Beyond providing advocacy and support to underrepresented students and student groups, members of the staff serve as referral agents, referring students to other offices and departments when necessary, and act as an information resource for all offices and departments within the College regarding diversity, equity, accessibility and justice.
Diversity, Equity, Accessibility and Justice Programs, Events and Activities
In striving to build a stronger Etown community, the Office of Diversity, Equity and Belonging provides multiple programs, events and activities open to all students, faculty and staff. Certain events will also be open to the greater Etown community. These activities are designed to celebreate identity, build affinity and connectedness, and educate the campus commmunity about historically marginalized identities, equity, accessibility and justice. A semester calendar of events can be found on the left-side tab, and are updated weekly on the Jays App.
Strategic Planning
The Dean of Students has a lead role in strategic planning related to diversity, equity, accessibility and justice. Through membership in both the Campus Strategic Plan Steering Committee and the Campus Inclusion Committee, the development of the Strategic Plan and the Campus Inclusion Committee Operational Plan is supported. This page will be updated with information about the Strategic and Operations plans when finalized.