The DICE program, an initiative created by the Office of Diversity and Equity, systematically offers an infinite amount of opportunities for students to spark conversations about diversity and equity (pictured above) (Courtesy of the diversity and inclusion community educator website).
Last year, the Office of Diversity and Equity created the Diversity and Inclusion Community Educator program and Advanced Cultural Competency Certificate to encourage multicultural awareness.
The ACCC is a 20-hour commitment that piloted last year and launched as a semester-long program this fall. The program was created based on faculty interest, student concerns and acquired funding from a grant from the biology department, according to chief diversity officer robbie routenberg.
“The biology department actually submitted a grant to SUNY for some work they’re doing in [that] department about ‘how do we support students for success?’ Particularly students who have had more barriers in the biology major,” routenberg said. “They said ‘there’s no reason this needs to be biology alone. We’d be happy for this to be available for anybody across the campus.’”
In the planning process, routenberg said they ensured that there was representation from different faculty, staff and professional departments on campus, including Campus Auxiliary Services, Civil Service Employees Association and many other departments.
Director of Residence Life and ACCC facilitator Sarah Frank said that, during the pilot, she felt like she knew a lot of the content being taught based on prior knowledge and training and was interested in other participants’ reactions.
“What was surprising for me is how surprising it was for others. Taking the course exposed me to how little some of our campus community who are older adults—whether they’re faculty or staff—how little they do know about identity or issues around identity challenges,” Frank said.
Frank said since becoming a facilitator she has learned more about topics such as schema—where people relate and categorize different groups—which are often a point of discussion that participants are reluctant to talk about.
“People are so afraid to talk about stereotyping and so you see your class sort of come out of their shells. I think that’s when the learning happens and that’s when we can make a difference in our communities anywhere,” Frank said. “If it’s creating harm, if we can snap ourselves out of it by reframing our thoughts or challenging our own ideas then we can really solve inequities.”
routenberg said that the action plan requirement of the course is significant because participants must consider how to apply what they have learned to their position on campus.
“It’s significant because people at ACCC are participating with a very clear intention of applying it to their work and to their jobs, that means that we have people in countless departments across campus who are very specifically learning and trying to apply this to their work,” routenberg said.
Overall, the subject matter, the planned curriculum and endorsement from the campus community for the ACCC program gives the campus “something to value,” according to Frank.
“Diversity and inclusion are valued at this campus, and we won’t tolerate intolerance. We won’t tolerate people being inequitable or microaggressing, etc. It means that we care about these issues and we want to educate folks around them. We believe in them,” Frank said.
While the ACCC is specifically for faculty, the DICE wokeshops—created last year—are available for any group, organization or department on campus.
Wokeshops are interactive, student-facilitated discussions usually requested for more general topics, but the program also performs special topics requests. Examples have been cultural appropriation before Halloween and wokeshops on social identity for “sex-segregated organizations like fraternities, sororities and sports teams,” according to Student coordinator of DICE wokeshops senior Madeline Reichler.
“One of the things we hear all the time is that people see value in being able to have honest and open conversations,” routenberg said. “A lot of times those are risky conversations to have. People are generally really grateful that there’s a system to support facilitated conversation.”
Reichler said reception is also based on whether the wokeshop is required or elective.
“It can change the feedback just because when people feel like they chose to be there, they’re more likely to be open to having it be a positive experience and topics,” Reichler said. “You’ll get more out of it if you have a sense of openness and interest.”
DICE’s effect on the campus community is raising awareness and continuing dialogues, according to Reichler.
“The people who are already working together can continue the conversations that are started in the workshop after the workshop is over,” Reichler said. “I think that it changes the campus climate because change stems from becoming aware of social justice issues.”
routenberg said they believe both programs will begin to have an effect on our campus.
“I am fully confident when we look over a longer period of time than we’ve had so far [that] we’ll see a direct impact of these kinds of programs on our campus,” they said.