Despite 2016 being riddled with controversy, particularly regarding diversity issues, Vice Provost for Diversity Dereck Rovaris reflected on 2016 and previewed 2017 with optimism for new events and resources becoming available to students.
In November, students gathered on multiple occasions to react to the election of Donald Trump and to prepare for what the next four years may look like for under-represented groups. Rovaris said, during this time, the Office of Diversity let students gather and react as a community as they felt necessary, with little involvement from the faculty.
After the election, the Black Student Union and the NAACP at LSU organized a protest in the Quad to tell students that their voices matter.
Rovaris said while 2016 was a rough year, the Office of Diversity has high hopes for 2017, with plans to advance its ultimate goal of ensuring that the University is a place where everyone can come to succeed.
To help students succeed, the Office of Diversity has launched initiatives to create “safe spaces” around campus where faculty members are trained to listen to and understand the struggles students may be going through. These areas are usually in faculty offices and are marked by “LSU Safe Space” stickers. Rovaris noted there are plans to extend training to more faculty in order to meet the needs of students.
Rovaris said he wanted to remind University students these areas on campus are there for support, not shelter.
“It’s not a bunker, It’s not a place where you can go and hide,” Rovaris said.
Rovaris reflected positively on previous years positively when students took University issues into their own hands to make impactful change around campus. A primary example, Rovaris said, was when students recently suggested that the University work to create gender neutral bathrooms on campus after a Student Government resolution passed in October 2015 regarding this issue. Rovaris said the faculty in the Office of Diversity faculty is always available to assist students in navigating how to make similar impactful changes at the University.
“I have been encouraged by Student Government’s willingness to roll up their sleeves and say, ‘Let’s see if we can make some changes,” Rovaris said.
Rovaris also said a “well-known” individual will be coming to speak on campus. He hinted that when he started at the University in 2014, there was controversy surrounding this individual and that now they are a welcomed speaker in the upcoming semester.
With Martin Luther King Jr. Day approaching, Rovaris said that now is an important time to reflect on our history not just as a nation, but as a University. Rovaris said, “We have to acknowledge that history and then move forward, and that’s what I think the King celebration does.”