A DJS Journey

Two Diversity Center Alumni, Andrew Larsen ('15) and Troy Andrade ('07) were honored this year with Distinguished Pacific Lutheran University Alumni Awards. For his potential for a lifelong commitment to the university and alumni association, Andrew Larsen received the Brian C. Olson Student Leadership Award Andrew Larsen was an Anthropology and Religion double major and Political Science minor from Helena, Montana. Larsen was accomplished in and out of the classroom during his time at PLU. During his time on campus Andrew participated in a wide range of activities including Athletics, Associated Students of PLU, The Diversity Center, Student Involvement and Leadership, Residential Life, Campus Ministry, Office of Admission, Wild Hope Center for Vocation, Office of the President and the Academic Assistance Center. For all of these activities he served in a leadership role and showed his propensity to mentor and support the next generation of Lutes. His accomplishm...

Rieke Scholars are committed to social justice, equity, reconciliation, and action. They embody the values of The Diversity Center: Critical Reflection, Perspective Taking, and Community. Maya, Maria, and Antoinette share what tools they believe are necessary in order to engage and thrive in The dCenter community. ___ Dear Rieke, Welcome to the D-Center family! You’re about to enter this exciting space that requires a lot of love, patience, and compassion. You were selected to be a Rieke because you will clearly bringing something positive and unique to this space, so above all don't forget to be yourself! This position will require you to be thoughtful, how do you want to engage with people in difficult conversations or even just daily conversations? The people I have seen be most successful in this role have been open and authentic about where they are at mentally and emotionally, and are also willing to meet others where they are as well. Be open about how you are...

The 2nd Annual The Diversity Center Alumni Weekend was May15-17.  Over 20 dCenter Alumni came from near and far to reconnect with the people, space, and community that at one time or another they all called home. Xochilt Coca ('13) shares why she, as a dCenter Alumnae, continues to engage with the community. Xochilt Coca '13 "I stay connected to the PLU Diversity Center because this community has become an extension of my family. As a first generation student of color I was able to find my "home away from home" as well as a community that helped me grow into a leader on campus. As a Rieke scholar I was able to serve as an advocate for issues of social justice such as immigration by facilitating and creating a scene for Tunnel of Oppression along with other students. Without the love and support from the dCenter I do not believe I would have had as rich of an experience at PLU. I am forever grateful to this community for its positive impact on my life...

Mathew 5:13-16 13  “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 14  “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15  Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all   who are   in the house.   16  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. – NKJV We rested in the sanctuary of Iglesia Luterana Cresto Rey in El Paso Texas, for a small worship service beginning our last reflection of our Border Immersion experience. Pastora Rosa led us by asking two questions. Who has been a light for us in our journey? Who has made an impact on you this week? How could I possible summarize my experience engaging in a community when I had learned so much? It was only seven days earlier t...

Community guidelines, agreements, or tenants are used far and wide in social justice education settings.   Creating, stating, and agreeing upon community guidelines is typically at the top of the agendas of workshops, institutes, and new community meetings.   Lately I have noticed myself being disingenuous about the idea of establishing community standards over and over again.   What’s the point of spending time creating a list of agreements - ways in which we would like to hold each other accountable as a community, ways to create a community of learners and leaders, and ways to create a brave space that acknowledges conflict and difference exists and welcomes diverse perspectives and a range of learners – if too often we do not hold each other accountable for upholding them?   What I have notice is when time goes on, and communities have long since upheld and or revisited their commitments and guidelines, people begin side stepping around each other and issues, bl...

"So why did I weep when Trayvon Martin was in the street? When gang banging make me kill a nigga blacker than me? Hypocrite!" – Kendrick Lamar- The Blacker the Berry Listening and re-listening, debating, and listening again, has had me in a frenzy trying to understand where I stand in all the rage. Are we valuing every narrative? How can we call our own ignorant when they are simply telling their stories? How does our debate distract us from the real work of saving our own lives? To begin unpacking, I began to shuffle a flurry of ideas, debasing single stories and recognizing the value of a more complex narrative, that has evolved into three muddled poems because BLACKLIVESMATTER. Part One: Envy The worst of the deadly sins.  It's the fear of worthlessness Commitment to deficiency An unresolvable yearning Urgently declaring I am not enough... BLACKLIVESMATTER Mine too? My awkward goofy? My loud disruptive? My nappy jovial? My s...

           It was such a pleasure seeing so many students, faculty, and staff come together to cheer on and appreciate their community. The vibe in the room was one of love, thoughtfulness, and compassion. Watching multigenerational song, movement showing powerful emotion, and the sound of the Maori warriors, all created a strong emotional pull inside of me. Why this event is so impactful is because this vibe of togetherness does not translate outside of this space often in the world. Global Getdown is not just meant to be one night of entertainment. It is meant to show that in difference there is strength. Embracing diversity is not just to see diversity, cheer, and move on, but rather recognize and understand that your own humanity is intertwined with people often referred to as ‘the other”. Perhaps, being the other is your experience, and perhaps not. In a world that values white skin, those with monetary wealth, patriarchy, a...

What does diversity mean to you? For the past two weeks, a few of my peers and I have asked students who have passed by the dCenter to answer this question. This dCenter project was to figure out what the student population, outside of our dCenter folks, thought about (if they did) diversity. This interactive, write on a window project, has been an eye-opening experience. As woman of color, I stood outside of the dCenter with markers and asked random individuals who walked by to answer this quick question. First of all, I felt a bit uncomfortable asking random students to do this quick task. Second, I was asking a crowd of white individuals what they thought diversity meant to them. Lastly, it never occurred to me how hard of a question I was asking until I watched students stand in front of the window, with marker in hand, for what seemed like a very long minute as they formulated their thoughts into a sentence or word... or realized that this question made some students uncomfor...

A satire, not a documentary. A comedy, not a protest. Or is it? After hearing of this new, radical movie talking about our story as students of color, at a predominately White university, we, Black Student Union and the Diversity Center, decided we’d go see it together. This meant each paying our own way, but hopefully at the same time to discover the film, and then debrief. As interest grew the Diversity Center Director found a way to rent the theater so we could all go for free enabling us to open it to the entire campus community but with limited seats. As we ramped up to go see Dear White People in its opening weekend, we met some resistance on the PLU campus. The more advertisements went out, the more unsolicited and unchallenged comments, opinions, and questions. such as: “That’s so racist!” “Why are they mad?” “Is this a protest.”“Oh, yeah, I heard about that documentary.” PLU Dear White People private screening Racism is a system of inequality based on race, so no it...

I have often witnessed Orientation Guides attempt to describe the Diversity Center to new students, and while many hit key points, I have never heard a succinct and satisfying way to describe it. So, here's my attempt:  I want you to envision the Diversity Center, but picture it as a box shaped void, devoid of the people, couches, colors, and identity. Begin filling the box with words; good and bad, gendered and non-gendered, hateful and kind. Now, add ideas to these words, let them flow from your mind and into this space. Some of these ideas attract each other, others repel, still others spin about each other seemingly engaged only to disappear into the growing mass of thoughts whirling about in this void. While you're envisioning this conglomeration, picture your parents and your great-great-grandmother. Picture the president and your high school bully. Picture the world wars, and picture smallpox. Include the native people displaced and destabilized in colonial countrie...