One year after #DoesUIowaLoveMe, some progress made, but more needed, on inclusion – KCRG

IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) - University of Iowa students, faculty and staff came together Tuesday at the campus Center for Diversity and Enrichment to break bread and recognize the progress their school has made in the last year.

This time last year, a group of students were advocating to be seen and heard and respected on our campus by not just the general population, but mostly just administrators, Isabela Flores, a fifth-year student, said.

Near the end of February 2019, Flores and sophomore Chris Vazquez were two of the students who started using #DoesUIowaLoveMe on social media. As the hashtag spread, more students shared their own experiences. Many of those stories had a common theme.

A lot of people were not feeling like they were included or that they belonged here on this campus in a lot of these spaces, Flores said.

Nadine Petty, the executive director of the universitys Center for Diversity & Enrichment, said it was difficult to read about these experiences.

When we read these stories, these very poignant, painful experiences, of course its painful because it shows us that were not doing as good a job as we need to do, Petty said.

It led to more collaboration between students and staff, particularly with the universitys Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to figure out how to make the campus a more inclusive place.

Since then, Petty said the university has started new practices, the largest of which was the creation of a new position, the director of belonging and inclusion, which is currently held by Maria Bruno.

Theres great momentum around DEI work on campus, and thats what Im looking forward to and looking forward to seeing perpetuating down the road, Petty said.

Were definitely seeing that there are pockets and there are communities of people who are there for us, Flores said of the changes shes seen in the last year.

But she, Vazquez and other students are asking to see more of it, especially with the universitys leadership.

We arent seeing it necessarily from every administrator. We are seeing it from ones that are here tonight and ones that have always worked with students in general, Vazquez said.

Making sure that something like this doesnt have to manifest in order for change to happen, thats kind of my biggest thing, Flores added.

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One year after #DoesUIowaLoveMe, some progress made, but more needed, on inclusion - KCRG