WILMINGTON — “DEI, DEI, We Need DEI!”
READ MORE: UNCW discloses DEI changes to comply with UNC System mandate
ALSO: UNCW quiet on DEI repeal as students call for answers, CFCC group to host its own protest
Nearly 20 people from the university’s Black Student Union chanted against the recent mandate to eliminate the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs across the UNC System. They marched to the UNCW chancellor’s office Friday afternoon, holding signs: “They choose against us,” “No diversity without inclusion,” and “DEI is for all students.”
In particular, students advocated for a review of the university’s decision to eliminate director positions from its cultural centers. They were concerned it would further erode a sense of belonging within a primarily white student body; 6% of students are Black at UNCW.
“What was their mindset when they made this decision?” senior student Jada Mathewson asked. “Did they think about how it would affect the minority students?”
The UNC Board of Governors voted 22-2 in May to eliminate DEI programs at its 17 colleges and universities. It also included doing away with all chief diversity officers and reallocating funds that go toward these programs.
The board of governors asked for universities to devise plans on how they would alter existing DEI programs to adhere to the policy change. UNCW decided to close the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion (OIDI), eliminate the chief diversity officer position, and shift the cultural and identity centers from OIDI to the Student Affairs Department.
It also meant reallocating funds spent on DEI initiatives and departments to other areas. When UNCW rolled out plans to comply with the board’s vote, it was up in the air how the cultural centers on campus would be handled.
According to UNCW’s staff directory database, there are no longer head directors listed as part of the Upperman African American Cultural Center, Centro Hispano, the Mohin-Scholz LGBTQIA Resource Center, and the Asian Heritage Cultural Center. The directors’ names are now under roles within the Student Affairs Department.
- Sean Palmer, who was the director of Upperman African American Cultural Center for eight years, was transferred to an assistant director of Fraternity and Sorority Life.
- Brooke Lambert, director of the Mohin-Scholz LGBTQIA Resource Center, is now listed as the associate director for Budget and Facilities Operations.
- Udaanjargal Chuluunbaatar, interim director of the Asian Heritage Cultural Center, is now listed as a temporary EHRA employee in the campus life department.
- Edelmira Segovia, director of the Centro Hispano, is an associate director of Precollege Programs and College Access.
Port City Daily asked the university about the directorial position shifts, among other questions, but spokesperson Sydney Bouchelle said information regarding DEI policy changes would need to be addressed with the UNC Board of Governors. The board will receive its colleges’ and universities’ compliance reports outlining their action plans to dissolve DEI on Sept. 1.
Students marched Friday down Chancellors Walk, from the Fisher Student Center to Veterans Hall, carrying three packets: one for Chancellor Aswani K. Volety, one for Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Dr. Christine Reed Davis, and one for Provost James Winebrake. Each, written by current students and alumni of the Black Student Union, contained alternative action plans for preserving programs and maintaining inclusivity.
One suggestion was made to replace the DEI acronym with the term “BEACH” — Belonging, Empathy, Education or Engagement, Academics, Civility or Community, and Hope.
Mathewson is a leader at the university’s Upperman African American Cultural Center and helped lead the protest. She questioned the ramifications decreased leadership at the cultural centers will have on students.
“These positions were pivotal,” Mathewson said ahead of the protest. “Now it’s only one director for each. The cultural centers won’t be able to put on all the events — or do half the things — they used to.”
Other students at the protest were worried the loss of the directors would overall affect the experience at the cultural centers. Senior Nex Humphrey is part of Centro Hispanico and Mohin-Scholz, but also attends events in support of the Upperman. They said the role cuts would put a lot of pressure on the student workers and one staff worker to keep up with maintenance of overseeing the centers’ needs.
“Our leaders made the center feel whole,” they said. “The school is making it seem like it’s not our choice, but it is. We, the students, are what makes the school.”
Antonio Adetoye, a transfer student from Italy, explained during the protest his involvement with Upperman made the university feel more like home.
“The staff especially helped create and foster the sense of community at each center,” he said.
Adetoye said the cultural centers and DEI programs have long been under supported by the university. He noted a noticeable decline in participation in DEI-related clubs, such as the UNCW NAACP, since his arrival.
“There just wasn’t enough show-out from the university,” he said. “We need their help to get it out there.”
Sophomore Meagan Noel echoed the same concerns. She pointed out how other universities in North Carolina have handled the new DEI policies quite differently.
For instance, North Carolina State University in Raleigh transitioned its DEI staff to the newly established Office of Institutional Equity and Equal Opportunity, according to a release from NC State’s vice chancellor and provost. Noel questioned why UNCW didn’t adopt a similar approach.
“They should have never taken them away from us,” Noel said. “I feel like it’s gotten to the point that they’re trying to make us feel weaker as a community.”
After the protest, the university released a statement explaining that moving the cultural and identity centers under the Student Affairs Department is intended to benefit both the centers and Student Affairs. This integration aims to create more opportunities to support and strengthen students’ sense of belonging on campus, the release indicated.
“We are adhering to the new standards while also upholding our institutional values as a student-centered university committed to respect, understanding and support for every member of the Seahawk community,” a representative from the university said.
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