This was a tremendous week for the leaders on our campus. Dr. Beverly Warren kicked off the week with her “Heart of Kent State” address. 

In the address, she outlined six points of emphasis that her administration will be focusing on. I invite you to listen to her address to revisit the points-in depth. 

Last night, leaders from PRIDE, BUS and USG corralled their efforts to pass two pieces of legislation that I find to be some of the most important Kent State undergrads will see for some time.

USG passed resolutions to add two standing committees. The first will address the needs and concerns of international students. We identified our service to the international student population as lacking and something that needed a serious upgrade. With that in mind, we boldly said that it not only needed to be a priority now but forever. With adding the International Student Affairs Advisory Council — or ISAAC for short because we’re Kent State and have a fetish for acronyms —  your leaders have said that we hear the concerns of our students from abroad and want to do everything we can to enhance and improve their experience. 

I have felt for a long time that we drop our international students off in the middle of campus with a map and understaff their support systems. We stand to learn much from each other, and we can learn more from each other if we allow students to be on a level playing field.

Secondly, a Diversity Committee was much needed. I stress that statement. With recent events in our country and occurrences right here in our backyard, we desperately need to have conversations on diversity. 

Whether it is transitioning veterans from the battlefield to the classroom, having bathrooms and housing that everyone is comfortable with, or talking about cultural differences, diversity needs to be an ongoing conversation. Students from multiple organizations placed a call for action from USG and it has now responded.

I think the most important thing that has come from all of this is that multiple people are getting a seat at the table and actually working together. Much more work is on the way, but this is a vital first step. I think our leadership deserves applause. It has been said by multiple leaders that the time is now for leaders to come together, not only to protest, but also to progress. 

From top-level administration, all the way down to the last student, people are trying to work. Continue to hold your leaders accountable. Continue to hold yourselves accountable. Always challenge yourselves and challenge each other.