Thank You DJS Leaders

Rosario Jesús Treviño Yoson is a 2nd year majoring in Economics. They identify as a mixed queer transmasculine person using he/they pronouns. He plans to use their degree to address food insecurity. You can find him in the Diversity Center, the library, or the student radio station in the Neeb building.

Dear DJS Student Leaders,

    It has been an honor to organize your stories this year. When I started, I was a little lost. I hadn’t attempted something like this before. What I uncovered became larger than the website. In conversations I had with each of the writers, I sought to go deeper into their motivations, why they are committed to the work they do towards anti-racism; outside of school and sometimes unpaid. It is the right thing to do, but these students stepped farther, they took initiative and leadership in their own communities, rather than waiting for direction. 

    I was encouraged after hearing from a few writers “this conversation helped me examine some things” or “I had never thought about this topic from that angle before.” The prospect of revealing something new alongside them thrilled me. Nicole Juliano told me something I immediately connected with. “Sometimes the real impact happens in the discussion. The process may be more important than the piece itself.” I kept her advice in mind in conversations with writers after, and I found much richer discussions as a result. The same line of thinking can be applied to reflection. When we take some time to be vulnerable, to intentionally rest, to reevaluate our direction, where we arrive is more fulfilling.

    This is not an easy thing to do. As individuals, this is not taught to us, instead we must learn it from others and change our constant grinding mentality. Vulnerability will be tricky to grapple with as our community enters into a new phase of living. I asked Nicole why vulnerability is so difficult to navigate right now. She responded “in times of trauma, we are inclined to fiercely hold onto the familiar. White supremacist values do not prioritize vulnerability and reflection.” There is a chance for us to change at an individual level. As we enter more in-person life at PLU, we have the power to model this with each other. Trust and openness is radical. As our lives change, we are not required to stay the same. We can strive for something better, for ourselves and for others. Thank you for modeling this vulnerability for our community.

Much love,

Rosario