Staff and graduate students from the campus events team convene to discuss the results of their annual satisfaction survey. Their preliminary analysis revealed that in large proportion, students of color, in particular international students of color, felt marginalized by the team's series of cultural celebrations. In the comment portions of the survey, many students shared their concerns about events centered on holidays and other cultural significant traditions and asserted that the design and execution of the events was essentializing, misinformed and offensive.
The team engaged one another in dialogue about the impact of their events and examined how they were selected, what research was performed in the design, who the intended audience was and who was consulted in the event planning and execution.
After auditing their practices, the team agrees that the planning process for hosting a cultural event should be longer than some other events, and should include more consultation and rigorous inquiry with community stakeholders. The team members agree that they should proceed with cultural events, but overall, they need to slow down and engage in more meaningful collaboration with students and community members to facilitate their events. Otherwise, if they are not able to commit adequate time, they should forgo undertaking cultural celebrations.
- The Issue: The campus events team receives critical feedback on their programming series and realizes the program design and execution is having a marginalizing impact on international students of color.
- The Deliberation: The team engages more deeply with the survey data and facilitates an audit of the design and facilitation practices.
- The Growth: The team affirms the importance of engaging cultural traditions and celebrations in its programming series and commits to slow down the process to improve consultation and collaboration with diverse constituents.