UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
With our version of DEI training, we hope to enforce more student-to-student relationships by having panels hosted and led by students of marginalized groups. We propose partnerships with SPIRIT, SALSA, ABLE CMU, YALA and PRISM to assemble panels of students that represent the intersection of multiple identities. In order to emphasize authentic student connections, we aim to host panel sessions to answer generated questions at first, but then engage students directly to ask questions and have meaningful discussions about experiences at CMU. We feel that an increased personal connection will emphasize the very basic idea that any prejudice hurts people and that having a diverse community is integral to a healthy, happy Carnegie Mellon. Given the small, close nature of the CMU campus, we are in a position to enact these kinds of person-to-person efforts. Another pillar of the sessions we hope to host are issue-specific workshops that can produce more inclusive, contemplation of all identities. These workshops can be historically oriented, connecting how our past understandings of race, gender identity, sexuality orientation, belonging, community and other key discursively and culturally constructed concepts influence our colleagues and peers on campus. With the interpersonal connections fostered in panels, connecting current issues with the state of DEI to its larger societal, political and cultural contexts can encourage students to fully comprehend the importance of our efforts in the context of our own educational commitments. Before students participate in these sessions, we propose a recommended reading list for first-year students. The books can change throughout the years and can represent perspectives from multiple marginalized groups. While readings such as Randy Pausch’s renowned “Last Lecture” construct an ethos for Carnegie Mellon that is communicated to students before they step foot on campus, we encourage the administration to consider how this might be done by presenting influential readings from marginalized authors that co-construct another critical narrative about CMU’s dedication to a campus that is diverse, equitable and inclusive for all. STRATEGY B: LAUNCH THE DIETRICH ACADEMY, A SUMMER PRE-COLLEGE PROGRAM FOR LOW-INCOME, FIRST-GENERATION AND OTHER STUDENTS WHO CONTRIBUTE TO DIVERSITY CMU offers several pre-college summer programs that serve, in part, as recruitment tools for the university. The Summer Academy for Mathematics and Science (SAMS) focuses on low- income, first-generation and other students who contribute to diversity, but several other programs include scholarships that aim to increase diversity. For example, Summer Session (previously Advanced Placement Early Admission), offers dozens of full scholarships. The other pre-college programs also offer scholarships, as will the newly approved pre-college program run by the English Department. All of these programs offer outstanding opportunities for scholarship recipients. But as with our admissions efforts, many of these programs struggle to identify and recruit students from the Pittsburgh region. Our goal is to provide a high-quality, intensive summer program for low-income, first-generation and other students who contribute to diversity from the Pittsburgh region. We will aim to connect these students to each other fostering a strong cohort and to encourage them to identify with and apply to Dietrich College. We will focus on encouraging the students to believe in their ability to thrive in college and to provide them with the skills necessary to navigate the college admissions process.
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DIETRICH COLLEGE DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION PLAN
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