Four students turned student directors: Meet the ODI

Signing financial contracts, contacting artists, and running the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) were not what four students expected when they walked onto campus in 2018 and 2019.

Over the summer, these four students were working as assistants to the ODI helping Jasmin Robinson, former director of diversity and inclusion, develop and run various events and programs for the upcoming year. 

However, the office dynamic shifted when Robinson resigned over the summer and when there was a missing office space for diversity and inclusion following some reconstruction in the Frick center.

Duong “Teresa” Nguyen, LeMeah Brownlee, Hannah Yearout, and Joi Reed are the four students each running different programs within the office on top of their classes and extracurriculars.

Nguyen began working for the office during her sophomore year in 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic. Initially, her duties consisted of organizing virtual study halls and workshops. Now, she was the main person planning culturefest, on top of working on marketing alongside Brownlee, and her previous duties. 

“I have never been so stressed,” said Nguyen, a junior digital marketing communications major, over a Zoom call from her dorm room. 

Stress was a common response amongst the directors when asked how they were feeling. Two of them are in their senior year and the other two are juniors who are heavily involved on campus as club presidents, as resident hall assistants, and in Greek life. 

Upon receiving the news, Nguyen recalls Robinson telling them to not take on too much work if they could not complete it, but Nguyen did not hesitate to take on more responsibility. 

“It was kind of a little bit of stress for me for the first time because we don’t have a new director,” said Nguyen. 

Uncertainty for the future of the ODI concerns Nguyen since there has not been a replacement for Robinson yet. 

“They talk about the [vice president] of diversity and inclusion but it seems like that person is never coming,” said Nguyen. 

In an email interview with The Leader, Reed expressed concern for new students coming to campus because of the absence of a formal ODI.

“When I found out, I felt extremely worried for the students who relied on the ODI for support and guidance,” said Reed, a senior music business major. “Now, I still feel that way. I am nervous [about] the future of the ODI.”

Currently, the office is being overseen by Phil Riordan and Cheryl Leoni until a replacement is found, according to Robinson in her departure email. 

Leoni did not respond to The Leader’s request for comment. 

In an email interview, Riordan said the students “are doing an amazing job planning programs for the campus community that promotes DEI.”

In a campus wide email on Sept. 22, President Troy VanAken announced the inaugural position of a vice president of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) would be on campus, and four candidates will be on campus for students to meet and learn more about. 

VanAken wrote, “we launched our search this past spring, after conducting a series of listening sessions with the President’s Advisory Council for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, faculty, staff, students, alumni, trustees and other campus stakeholders.” 

Nguyen recalls sitting in on a Center for Multicultural Engagement (CME) meeting with Phil Riordan and VanAken last year where they asked for her input about the position, but says she never heard about the position again. 

All four student directors allege to not have known about the ongoing search for a VP of DEI before the email was released earlier this week. 

“He’s [President Troy VanAken] not being transparent at all,” said one of the student directors, who asked to remain anonymous for the reporting of this story. 

This student has worked for the office since her freshman year, primarily working on the office’s public relations, marketing, and social media. 

As a student director, most of her days are devoted to overseeing the ODI on top of her classes and extracurriculars.

“During the times I am in class I may have to respond to emails as well and post things on Instagram and make sure things are in order,” the student said. “It’s really been hard to balance out everything because I have to put so many hours in for the office to make sure it is running smoothly.”

A lot of the work done for the ODI is conducted remotely because Robinson’s office was removed over the summer during a renovation in the Frick Center. 

“We were not provided with a physical space to work,” said Reed in an email. “We did try to advocate for [Robinson]’s office, but it was given to a grad assistant, and we were told to go virtual.” 

By not having a physical office space or reporting to a faculty employee, a lot of their work goes unaccounted for because they have no set schedule compared to other student workers. 

The student explained that there really is not a moment when they can turn off working for the ODI and just focus on being a student. 

“We have to put in a lot of extra hours that we can’t necessarily clock in since we don’t have the right resources to just do our work in an allotted time,” the student director explained. “We’re pretty much student directors 25/8.”