Tonight, the Office of Diversity & Inclusion at Longwood will be sponsoring the Annual Multicultural Student Reception in Blackwell Hall. The evening begins at 5:30 p.m. and will include a number of speakers and performances catered to bringing diverse thoughts to the campus community.
Dr. Jamie Riley, newly appointed director for Diversity & Inclusion, said an African dance troupe from Richmond, Longwood's own B.A.S.I.C. Gospel Choir, as well as a student jazz ensemble, would perform during the reception. Students from various groups on campus will also be present to talk about what diversity means from their point of view. They include representatives from the Secular Student Alliance, Black Student Alliance, the Student Government Association, and Episcopal Lutheran Campus Ministries. Riley said, "It's important to have a variety of perspectives provided when we talk about diversity."
"The point of this is to show how diversity exists on campus," said Riley. While attendees needed to RSVP for the dinner, Riley said the public is welcome to attend the program starting at 6:15 p.m.
This is the first time a program like this has taken place at Longwood, but similar events, such as the Minority Student Reception, have been held in the past. While the former event gave a sense of diversity to the campus, Riley said he wants the new reception to be something more. He said he plans to have the event take place during the start of each new academic year.
"My goal is to support a new definition of what diversity is," Riley said. "We're working to show we all have something that makes us unique."
Riley added, "Diversity is everybody's responsibility and the term affects everyone." Diversity does not just boil down to race or ethnicity—it includes factors such as political ideologies, religious views and socioeconomic status. "It's thinking beyond the visual … race and ethnicity. At that point is where you can support inclusion," Riley said.
Riley described tonight's reception as setting the premise of how "we do what we do." He said it is important to have a campus full of "socially just alliances and allies. That's part of being a citizen leader."
Tonight's reception is not the only activity the office sponsors to promote diversity on campus. The University Diversity Council (UDC), composed of faculty and staff representatives, works to develop and sponsor different policies that help create a more diverse environment on campus. This includes creating lesson plans that are more diverse and inclusion for students.
New this year is the Student Diversity Council, composed of 25 students, the chair also setting on the UDC, from various aspects of campus life. Riley said the mission of the council will be to do a number of ground-breaking activities, such as awareness and informative campaigns. He said the council is working on promoting allies for bullying. "We want Longwood students to realize they have the power to advocate whether they belong to a group or not."
For more information on the Office of Diversity & Inclusion, visit http://www.longwood.edu/diversity/index.html.
