"I don't want any of you to forget what you have seen and what you have heard today," Associate Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Ryan Saddler '95, '06 MEdT said as he addressed a crowd of more than 400 Ambrosians in the spring of 2019. "But the real challenge comes tomorrow."
Saddler spoke at the conclusion of a Unity Walk that served as an organized campus response to incidents involving racist graffiti in a St. Ambrose residence hall. The walk was led by Black Student Union (BSU), which had made a return to campus the previous fall.
"The circumstances weren't great, of course, but it was a really impactful way for us to make our debut," said BSU president Leonard Jones, who stood at Saddler's side as he spoke.
BSU at St. Ambrose was first formed in the late 1960s when, as on many college campuses, the focus on racial issues began to turn inward. At the time, about 40 black students were enrolled at St. Ambrose. Today, the number of black students totals 138, a number Saddler and the university recognize must grow as they seek to build a diverse and inclusive campus.
A revitalized and active BSU is a significant step toward that goal and toward better serving St. Ambrose's mission core value of diversity. BSU had been dormant for several years.
Former Fighting Bees football player Fritz Dieudonné, coordinator of student diversity, equity, and inclusion, is staff adviser for BSU, and was the catalyst for the group's return a year ago. As an SAU student, he was an active BSU member and served as its president as an upperclassman.
"I can look back on my time and see the impact BSU made, and I knew that it was important to have our current students experience that as well," he said.
"Even if they get together for just one hour a week, that time they spend with people who look like them, who talk like them, who truly understand them, I see value there."
This spring BSU planned to launch a new event series on campus called "The Black Conscious." When classes resume in the fall, the series will explore topics such as black history, black theology, black women in America, and the crack epidemic of the 1980s, to name a few. Jones said people of all ethnicities, backgrounds, and opinions are encouraged to attend.
"This will definitely not be the time to outcast someone for the way they think," he said. "This is the time to step out of your own shoes and look at the world from the perspective of someone else."
Jones and BSU have impacted change at the top as well. Jones meets regularly with SAU Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Paul Koch, PhD. Jones also has worked with Koch, Saddler, and the St. Ambrose Diversity Work Group to develop a policy that formalizes implicit bias reporting.
"Students play a key role in providing me feedback about issues they are facing and having conversations about how we can continue to improve the university," Koch said. "In Leonard's case, I value the relationship we have and I look forward to the future as we continue to work to make St. Ambrose a place where all students feel included and valued."
Jones said he knows drastic change can't occur in only a year, but he's happy to see that conversations are moving forward, through communication and education.
"The BSU is back and we're ready to make change," he said. "We're here to stay."
- Lindsey Row '16
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