Diversity

Inclusivity in art is an act of protest. It is a radical commitment to creating equitable spaces in a fundamentally inequitable world. To practice inclusivity is to recognize your areas of ignorance and work on them. It is to surround yourself with people who will point out where you can do better, and to empower them to do so. It is listening, it is humbling yourself, and it is using your platform to give others a platform.

Let’s be real. How many of you have never attended a Black Theater Ensemble production? How many of you within the theater community have pushed the people of color (POC) who are cast in your shows into the ensemble? How many of you only cast POC if they’re light-skinned or white-passing? Or cast one token person of color, only to make them feel isolated and othered during your JJ’s runs and cast parties?

In my experience at Columbia, theater is dominated by white artists, both onstage and behind the scenes. Perhaps this surfeit of white leadership reflects the larger university population (which is itself a mirror of the elite cross sections of most artistic industries). Productions are selected and headed by white directors and producers, who build teams of people who look similar to themselves, leading to many shows being filled with white actors.

After a yearlong search, Ariana González Stokas, TC ‘10, will serve as the first ever Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, President Sian Beilock announced in an email Thursday morning.

A panel of professors discussed a century of history of the Core Curriculum, addressing student concerns over lack of diversity in its curriculum and faculty in an event titled From the Great Books Movement to the Core on Friday.

Founded as a space for students and faculty to foster dialogue and push for change around diversity and inclusion in the classroom, the Center for Engaged Pedagogy will have its first director by July 1, Provost Linda Bell and Vice Provost for Academic Programs and Curriculum Saskia Hamilton announced at a Student Government Association meeting on Monday night.

As a scholar of both English and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies, I often feel as though I exist in a constant state of cognitive dissonance. I’ll go from reading racist, Enlightenment-period travel logs in my 10:10 a.m. class to deconstructing the violence of the capitalist nation-state in my 2:10 p.m. It’s wild. While I chose to major in English mainly because it is the only way to pursue creative writing at Barnard, I have been nonetheless struck by the fact that most of my readings center on the perspectives of white men.

Standing out in the monotonous scroll through Instagram is Nana Agyemang, Journalism ’17, and her popular fashion blog, EveryStylishGirl. Divided chromatically by bright periwinkles and lush lavenders, the individuals featured on her feed empower people of color on a platform and industry often lacking representation.

When Kim Samala, BC ’20, ran for Barnard’s Student Government Association, she was excited at the prospect of representing the student body in her role as vice president of communications. But now, after two semesters on SGA, Samala said she has faced significant challenges as the only person of color on the Executive Board on top of doing the work she was elected to do on a daily basis.

Former students and colleagues gathered in Low Library on Tuesday afternoon to celebrate the life of Marcellus Blount, a former literary scholar and professor who shaped the University’s commitment to academic diversity for more than three decades and who passed away last May.