CIC Town Hall | Graphic by Bethany Althauser | The Wright State Guardian
On Monday, Nov. 18, the Student Government Association held a town hall in the Culture and Identity Centers regarding questions any students had and asking staff about their thoughts on each matter, including Senate Bill 83.
Atmosphere
Hadassah Davidson is a sophomore biochemistry major and the Director of Inclusive Excellence and Accessibility for SGA at Wright State University.
“Before we start, I want to set some community boundaries. So please everyone, remain kind and respectful,” said Davidson.
Davidson's statements and approach to the conversation created a comfortable environment, encouraging attendees to listen and contribute when they had information to share.
Davidson and other involved SGA members planned to have WSU’s Provost present for the event, but due to a communication issue, she was unable to attend, and Eric Corbitt became the primary person to answer all of the questions.
Corbitt is the director of the Student Union and Campus Recreation, and he is also the interim Dean of students.
Next semester, Davidson wants to hold more of these CIC town halls, and is hopeful that more staff in addition to Corbitt will be able to attend to further broaden the answers and conversations for the future.
Senate Bill 83
The town hall featured numerous questions for Corbitt, all submitted by WSU students who care about the CIC for various reasons, prompting SGA to organize the event. The first question was a hard-hitting one about an upcoming bill that has raised many concerns among students.
“The bill removed mandates for diversity, equity and inclusion training and required any DEI programming to undergo yearly review. However, with recent election results, there are concerns about the bill being revised to its original state, banning any DEI presence on any campus or any higher [education] institution in Ohio. In other states where similar bills have passed, their versions of [CIC] and inclusive excellence departments have been completely shut down if the bill passes, does the administration have a plan to handle the effects?” asked Davidson.
Many in attendance were surprised to hear this, in large part because this portion of the bill is buried beneath pages upon pages of other information, much of which is perceived by many of those present as filler to hide this issue.
“It only eliminates mandatory programs, right? So [the bill] still leaves the school with options. Or, not options, but with the ability to determine what they want to do and how we support DEI programs moving forward. And I know that it's a priority for [President Sue Edwards] to do that,” Corbitt said.
He went on to explain that he is not an expert on this bill, but that it has made its way into discussions at some of his meetings, and he and his coworkers are keeping their eyes on it.
Other topics
Aside from the worrisome bill, students had concerns regarding safety following recent politicized attacks down in Columbus as well as an incident of harassment that a student reported. Corbitt explained that safety is always on his mind and the minds of other faculty.
One question that was submitted asked what WSU plans to do in the future to help international students adjust better to a large cultural shift.
“We're also working on more bringing back living learning communities, where students that are in maybe a certain degree program or a certain affinity group could also choose to live on the same floor and live in a similar community, and usually that involves sharing classes. So there's opportunity for academic work together as well as social engagement. That's something that also could apply to international students as well,” Corbitt said.
Katie Thai is a sophomore political science major as well as the senator for WSU’s College of Liberal Arts.
While Thai remained quiet throughout most of the town hall, she shared many insights into SGA afterwards, including what their future is looking like.
“We're starting committees and stuff like, just probably should've been done months ago, but it's just solely due to some external circumstances,” Thai said.
She shared that almost everyone on SGA this year is new, and with the large increase of students this year, they have all felt overwhelmed. Now, according to Thai, they have gotten a better idea of what they are doing.
SGA holds weekly meetings, and is also active on Instagram with lots of updates and information there.
