At the heart of a campus that is built on the idea of promoting the variegation and inclusion of its students, the East Tennessee State University Diversity Educators is an emerging organization that invites undergraduates to learn about identity, culture and the changing world around them.
Students involved in the Diversity Educators visit classrooms and fellow student organizations to present diversity trainings, do activities, teach their peers about important terms to know and microaggressions to avoid and to help to make people aware on how they interact with others.
“Our goal is to create a campus space that is warm, positive and inviting for everyone,” said Cally Chisholm, the graduate assistant for the Diversity Educators. “We want to create a safer and more affirmative campus, regardless of race, gender, sexuality or social status.”
Chisholm is in her second year of graduate school at ETSU and is involved in the Liberal Studies Program. She graduated from the Missouri Southern State University with a degree in Mass Communications in 2020 and chose to make the move to Tennessee for graduate school to be closer to her family.
She hopes that the Diversity Educators will be able to participate in more on-ground events during the 2021-22 school year, such as the 21-Day Anti-Racism Challenge, which they hosted virtually last semester. During the 21-day time period, students can educate themselves on steps they can take to learn about anti-racism through scholarly articles, journals, documentaries, movies and other forms of media.
The program also plans to partner with Buctainment for an upcoming film-showing and to organize an event with the Pride Center to emphasize the importance of LGBTQ+ History Month.
The Diversity Educators host mandatory meetings every other Monday, where they create a space to talk amongst each other and develop skills such as public speaking, civil discourse in situations of conflict and how to deal with sensitive topics.
“You have to have an openness, be willing to challenge yourself and be open to other people experiences,” said Chisholm. “We welcome everybody who’s curious to apply. You don’t have to be an expert; just have an openness and willingness for change and growth.”
If students are interested in applying to be a Diversity Educator, they can do so at this link: https://forms.gle/GtXsyVCoDRPJWNzaA
