The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Roundtables are a Student Government Association series of events focused on improving the inclusivity of minorities at our university. The objective of the roundtables is for members of the student body to discuss topics of diversity, equity, and inclusion with SGA. At these roundtables, SGA collaborated with students to develop DEI initiatives.
The DEI Roundtables were started by former SGA President Reid Powell and former SGA DEI Secretary Patricia Ashford in the Spring of 2021. BreAuna Shaw served as the Secretary of DEI for the 2021-2022 semester. She is now the president of SGA.
“Eight action items have been created from the DEI Roundtable conversations, but there are many other DEI efforts in progress with SGA,” stated Shaw while she was DEI secretary. “We must listen and advocate for each other’s ideas. Continuous collaboration is how these measures will benefit our campus.”
At the Nov. 10, DEI roundtable students discussed a list of action items that were presented. As of this meeting, the action items were as follows: DEI Communication, Make OCU Accessible, Eradicate Language Barriers, Land Acknowledgement, Community Fair, Reforming Auditions, BIPOC (black, indigenous, and people of color) Theatre Representation, Secretary of Outreach & Engagement and High School Leadership Conference.
At the DEI roundtable on March 9, Shaw said she had meetings with senators from the schools of theatre and music. She said SGA was looking into ways to improve the audition process for out-of-state students and that senators have been discussing “their experiences as people of color in the School of Theatre and the School of Music.”
“We will have more updates at the next roundtable, but we want to be sure that we do not skip steps and make sure that things are not just in motion before we present them to you all. So, I just wanted to say that there will be a lot more updates at the next roundtable,” Shaw said at the March 9 DEI Roundtable. The next roundtable was scheduled for April 13.
Student Publications reached out to SGA regarding the April 13 updates, but none were provided in time for this issue. Shaw says SGA will share updates on the initiatives with the student body in the future.
On April 21, BreAuna Shaw was inaugurated as the new Student Body President. Following Shaw’s inauguration former SGA VP Brittany Wyatt was sworn in as SGA VP of DEI at the first senate meeting.
List of action items presented at the Nov. 10 DEI Roundtable
DEI Communication / Communicate with higher-ups about DEI initiatives
Make OCU Accessible / More accessible campus for students with physical and mental disabilities
Eradicate language barriers / Make OCU more accessible to students whose first language isn’t English.
Land Acknowledgement / Editing and updating the official OCU Land Acknowledgement. Specifically researching into land acknowledgment committee information.
Community Fair / Welcome people outside of campus to OCU from the OKC community
Reforming Auditions / Making the audition process for OCU more accessible to students who cannot afford to commute.
BIPOC Theatre Representation / Gather feedback and communicate with the Theatre Department regarding issues and concerns from students of color and other marginalized groups.
Secretary of Outreach and Engagement / Making OCU more connected to our immediate community.
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