2020–21 Annual Report - University of Houston
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2020–21 Annual Report

Diversity and Inclusion

Diversity and Inclusion are integral values within the Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Services, reflecting the UH campus culture of being a sanctuary of learning for all races, genders, sexual preferences, cultures and identities.

Our mission is to foster an inclusive university community by providing services, programs, and support that will engage, empower, and educate our highly diverse student population and campus partners.

Book club expands into diverse discussion group

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THE HIVE has expanded.

The Women and Gender Resource Center’s book club over the past year broadened its scope to include new media, changed its name, and is now the go-to community and discussion group about social issues on the University of Houston campus.

Previously an unnamed simple book club, THE HIVE is open to the entire UH community — all identities and genders, or anyone looking to learn more about gender, inclusion and/or equity. Since its expanded debut in 2020, THE HIVE has yielded some very interesting discussions, particularly as the pandemic has continued and a social justice movement swept the country last year.

“The very first meeting of THE HIVE was scheduled to happen just days after the murder of George Floyd,” said Anneliese Bustillo, director of the Women and Gender Resource Center. “The WGRC staff made a joint decision to postpone our first meeting, scrap all our previous plans and do an entire summer of readings from Black authors, artists, and visionaries. We hoped to elevate voices that had been so often silenced in our education systems. One week later, our knowledge community met for the first time to discuss Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s We Should All Be Feminists, and it only grew from there.”

Named for a beehive — a working environment where every inhabitant contributes — THE HIVE’s goal reflects its inspiration.

Participants are asked to read, watch, or engage with new texts every meeting, but if they are not able to in time, they are still encouraged to attend. Just like in a beehive, the work is done in community, knowing that everyone can bring strengths and knowledge to any space. The WGRC staff picked the name to reflect that community, and because bees are a notoriously female-led species.

Ashlynd Bunce, a UH student who joined THE HIVE in Summer 2020, said it is one of the best programs at UH. Joining during the pandemic and in “the wake of some major social justice movements,” Bunce said, “THE HIVE was an incredibly safe space for those conversations.”

THE HIVE, Bunce said, has made her a “nicer, more mindful person with greater respect to all identities.”

“Conversations flowed so freely, and people were able to express their thoughts with zero judgement,” Bunce said. “There were many meetings that involved some laughing, some crying, and truthfully, some rage — not at each other, at topics being discussed. Because of these conversations, I learned so much more than I thought, gained all new perspectives and it helped me to become a more mindful person when speaking directly to someone or a large group of people. Our words matter and learning how to be more kind is never a bad thing.”

Meeting every month, either virtually or in-person, THE HIVE offers the UH community a chance to discuss books, movies, documentaries, TED Talks, podcasts, etc. Although it was originally intended to be just a summer program, participants demanded more, Bustillo said. In response, the WGRC expanded topics to include more marginalized groups, including Indigenous peoples, the Latine community, ANAPISI folks, LGBTQ individuals, and people with disabilities. Participants are encouraged to suggest readings every semester, and for example, All Boys Aren’t Blue, the Spring 2021 reading, came as a recommendation from the group. WGRC staff review the suggestions and pick ones that align with the semester’s programs.

During Latine Heritage Month, the group read a chapter from Borderlands/LaFrontera by Chicana author Gloria Anzaldua. The staff also plans a few questions to get the conversation started, but the participants largely lead the conversation and discuss whatever topics come forward. Bustillo described it as “kind of half book club, half support group.”

One of the reasons THE HIVE expanded beyond just books, Bustillo said, is because they knew not everyone would have the time to read an entire book. WGRC also prioritized that all texts should be able to be accessed for free, and if there’s a text the group is really interested in that isn’t available for free, the WGRC purchases it for all participants.

“WGRC staff strongly believe it is everyone's individual responsibility to educate ourselves on racism, injustice, and systemic oppression,” Bustillo said about that decision last year. “We hope THE HIVE provided participants with the space to do that work, together.”

Bunce hopes others at UH join THE HIVE, particularly if they want to join the conversations about social justice issues. “Whether you are well versed and do have a lot to say, or if you want to hear others opinions, or if you want to join the conversation but don't really know how, you will find your fit through this program,” Bunce said. “Because of this, it cemented the idea that I want to work to make places more inclusive and welcoming of everyone no matter their story. Snaps, claps, and all the kudos to the WGRC team.”

ABOUT THE HIVE

Previously discussed works

  • We Should All Be Feminists (TedTalk/book) by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
  • “They Told Me What I was Before I Could Tell Them What I Was,” Black Girls’ Ethnic-Racial Identity Development Within Multiple Worlds (scholarly article) by Lauren Mims and Joanna Williams
  • Tweets of Dr. Lauren Mims
  • Telling Male Friends ‘I Love You’ Is a Muscle Guys Need to Flex Every Day (Huffington Post Op Ed) by Jeff Perera
  • Clip on men’s mental health from TV show This Is Us
  • “Going to Meet the Man” (short story) by James Baldwin
  • The Mask You Live In (film) by Jennifer Siebel Newsom
  • The New Jim Crow (book) by Michelle Alexander
  • When They See Us (film) by Ava DuVernay
  • “Ain’t I A Woman” (speech performed by Kerry Washington) by Sojourner Truth
  • “On Intersectionality” (keynote speech) by Kimberle Crenshaw
  • The Hate U Give (book) by Angie Thomas
  • “Recitatif” (short story) by Toni Morrison
  • Beyond the Binary in the Classroom (scholarly article by Brielle Harbin
  • Borderlands/LaFrontera (book) by Gloria Anzaldua
  • The Search: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (tv special)
  • All Boys Aren’t Blue (book) by George M. Johnson
  • Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
  • The Laverne Cox show (podcast)
  • Disclosure (documentary) by Sam Feder

DEFINE RACE IN JUST SIX WORDS

Thomas Marshall III

The Race Card Project offers safe space for UH community to speak against racial injustice

Can you define race in just six words? Thomas Marshall III can. “You sound like a white boy.”

Those are the words the University of Houston student heard back when he attended predominantly Black schools in South Carolina. “That narrative has always stuck with me because of its own internalized racism that centers whiteness with talking ‘proper’ or not using slang,” Marshall said. “It’s who I am. My Blackness is not predicated on the way I talk but the way I live out my truth.”

Marshall was one of the first UH students to participate in The Race Card Project, a new platform created by the Student Centers, in collaboration with the Center for Diversity and Inclusion, to provide the UH community with a safe space to speak out against racial injustice.

The Race Card Project, which launched this past spring, is still taking submissions, said Eve Esch, executive director of the Student Centers.  “We are planning to show submissions on our Digital Art Gallery in the Spring in conjunction with the Center for Diversity and Inclusion’s Spring events.”

“Since May 2020 the world has been in what many have described a racial reckoning, one that has necessitated, critical reflection and conversation about race and racism and their impact,” said Varselles Cummings, director of the Center for Diversity and Inclusion. “The Race Card project offers UH community members an opportunity to reflect on their experiences, gain perspective on other people’s experiences with race and it aides in CDI’s tagline to make Diversity an Experience.”

The Race Card Project was created by recent alumna Teryn Pierce, an instructional assistant in the Student Centers. She said this past spring that the project’s intention is to challenge students, faculty and staff to define race in just six words — and then provide commentary on why they chose those six words.

“As a nation we have endured many obstacles, one of those being racial injustice,” she explains in a video on The Race Card Project’s website. “As students at the University of Houston, we want to make sure that you feel empowered to speak up against issues such as this one.”

Participation is easy: Click the “tell us your story” button on The Race Card Project website, and then fill out the Microsoft Form. Photo and video submissions are optional but encouraged. All submissions are vetted by Student Centers staff and the Center for Diversity and Inclusion before going live, and they reserve the right to not feature all submissions.

There are also a few best practices that participants must follow, such as no disrespectful language or behavior, and to use a trigger warning if sharing violent, graphic or sensitive topics.

“There is no wrong answer,” Pierce has explained. “Your story is literally your story. We’re here to help you share it.”

Pierce’s idea had the enthusiastic support of Student Centers leadership. Esch said she thought it was an amazing idea and a great way to collaborate with the Center for Diversity and Inclusion.

“One of our purposes is to build community, and it was challenging to do that when we had so many fewer folks in the building during the pandemic,” Esch said. “So I love this concept of this virtual community building and educational.”

By the Numbers

We are committed to a culture of diversity and inclusion at the University of Houston, and throughout the year we offer a number of services, programs, activities and events to empower, engage and educate the campus community. These are some of the accomplishments of our departments over the 2020–2021 Fiscal Year.

  • 700 Individual interactions related to sexual misconduct support services (69% increase from the previous year)

  • 450 Student athletes and coaches trained by the Center for Diversity and Inclusion

  • 3,120 Students assisted virtually by International Student Scholar Services

  • 481 Students served by Urban Experience Program

  • 286% Increase in attendance to the EMPOWER conference hosted by the Gender Resource Center and the Center for Student Involvement.