President Rao hosts forum on social justice

The VCU community gathered last Thursday for a social justice forum hosted by President Michael Rao on Oct. 13.

The forum was organized as part of a continued effort on the university’s behalf to further address issues of diversity and inclusion. Rao hosted a similar forum last fall in response to students standing in solidarity with the University of Missouri.

“I don’t want anyone to think that I am not grateful for a lot of the progress that we have made,” Rao said last Thursday. “But, on a personal level I will tell you that I am far from satisfied.”

In comparison to the forum last fall, which overflowed the Salons in the Student Commons, the social justice forum was organized so there could be more intimate and candid discussions rather than a question-and-answer style conversation.

There were three discussions throughout the day with representatives from the President’s office, the Office of Multicultural Affairs and VCU Health. Attendees were put into groups; each equipped with a moderator, scribe and various materials highlighting the resources the university provides for its students.

Bryanna James, a junior finance major, said she attended the event in hopes of learning more about what the university is doing to address the community’s concerns.

“It was nice to be able to talk and actually feel like I was being heard and listened to, which is very important,” James said. “It was nice to bounce ideas off of everyone who was apart of the conversation at the table.” 

Diana Borkar, a junior marketing major, was a scribe for one of the tables. She wasn’t allowed to participate in the conversations, but said she walked away having learned a great deal just by just listening.

“I am a person of color as well and I can only see things through my eyes, so I found it very enlightening to hear other people’s perspectives,” Borkar said.

A summary of the findings from this forum will be compiled and reviewed by the President’s Action Group on Diversity and Inclusion, which will ultimately be incorporated into the administration’s Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan.

STAFF WRITER

Hiba Ahmad
Hiba is a senior studying broadcast journalism and religious studies. In addition to writing for the CT, she is the campus editor-at-large for the Huffington Post, a blogger for MuslimGirl.net and president of United Muslim Relief at VCU. This summer, Hiba interned with the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Washington, D.C. She previously interned with Voice for America and as a web content intern for VCU’s Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture.
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