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living and what their situation is like,” Baggett said. Kelly said he would like to see an increased effort for graduate students of all identities and walks of life included in the campus life at the University. ANCHORING THE COMMUNITY Kelly said while his administration continues to define the needs of the diverse graduate student population, they are attempting to take stronger approaches than in the past to ensure that the voices of graduate students are being represented within the areas of decision-making at The University of Alabama. One of those areas is the Student Government Association (SGA) where GSA has been working to exercise its voice and influence. Over the years, Kelly said, GSA’s advocacy has failed to generate interest within the SGA, and the needs of graduate students have been overlooked due to the lack of adequate representation in the SGA. “It’s still hard to get into rooms of decision making, because SGA is a 100- plus year old organization,” Kelly said. “We haven’t been invited to the same rooms as the SGA.” Although graduate students are represented in the Student Government Association, graduate students only hold six out of the 50 seats in the SGA senate. “The problem is that it’s lopsided,” Kelly said. “It’s hard for graduate students to rely on undergraduate decision-making.” Kelly said SGA tenure, which usually lasts one year, is incompatible with the needs of graduate students. graduate students need to succeed,” Kelly said. “It’s hard to address the needs of graduate students in a one-year term.” Kelly said SGA and GSA are currently considering adopting an ambassadorial system that will foster communication between the two organizations. “We are working through different ways to include graduate input with the things that we are doing so that we can communicate well about the joint needs of each student body on campus,” Kelly said. GSA has also lobbied UA senior leadership to include graduate students on key administrative decisions. Kelly said to expand representation for graduate students on campus, GSA has added graduate student representatives to all 14 standing committees within the Office of Academic Affairs. The standing committees represent various UA offices and programs and recommend policy to university leadership. Kelly said in the past, GSA struggled with not having GSA representatives from every academic department, but this year, the organization has rebuilt its delegate system. “We set out this year to have delegates from each academic department on campus,” Kelly said. “We have given a lot of ownership to each committee to explore the needs of graduate students.” GSA’s internal committees act independently of the executive council, led by committee chairs, and recommend policy changes to the way that GSA operates. As GSA continues to expand its advocacy and form relationships with decision-makers on campus, Kelly stressed that if the University wants to continue to see an increase in graduate student recruitment numbers, people need to see a culture of health and wellness on UA’s campus. This would mean that the needs of graduate students are not only addressed, but put at the forefront of the University’s mission. “I want to make sure that students feel welcome, and that students can say that the University is a place of comfort and home for them, because it’s a representation of who I am,” Kelly said. “At my core, I’m an advocate. When I see something that’s not right, I want to make it noticed, and make sure that it becomes a place of fairness.” 16 “A body that changes that often is not conducive to making the changes that Quin Kelly, GSA president, is determined to have his voice– and the voices of other UA graduate students–heard. <strong>CW</strong> / Hannah Saad
JEFFREY KELLY & TARA DAVENPORT A DEEPER LOOK AT DIVERSITY Examining the DEI Cabinet in SGA Amid renewed national conversations about diversity, equity and inclusion, some members of student government are hoping to repair the organization’s image. In 2018, The University of Alabama Student Government Association created the vice president’s position for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) to better mirror Dr. G. Christine Taylor’s position as vice president and associate provost for diversity, equity and inclusion within the University’s administration. SGA President Demarcus Joiner was the first elected to the position, which he held last year before Caitlyn McTier took over the role this fall. With her cabinet team of around 25 students, McTier has been working on expanding programming and causing change for the campus community. “The work that they do is so important,” McTier said. “I think that each of them serve a specific, different subdivision of diversity, which is so unique to our cabinet. So I think for us it’s very special to be able to know that we’re touching almost every single student and their unique background.” THE CERTIFICATE PROGRAM One of McTier’s biggest priorities is bolstering the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Certificate Program, which was a new initiative last year. The program has already expanded this year to include an individual advanced certification option. “Last year, when the program was created, we had an amazing amount of interest. So I was proud of that, and that’s what I was looking for this year,” Joiner said. “But Caitlyn literally took this program and made it way more than I could imagine.” The DEI Certificate Program consists of five main events, which take place monthly. To get certified, organizations with fewer than 200 members must have at least 20% of their members, including at least one executive officer, in attendance at three out of the five events. Organizations with greater than 200 members must have a minimum of 15% of their members, including one executive officer, in attendance at three out of the five events. The DEI Individual Advanced Certificate Program is more intensive. Individuals must attend at least three out of the five main events, attend at least three other DEI events outside of the program, choose to watch two movies or read one book from approved lists and meet with an assigned partner at least once a month to discuss their different experiences and perspectives. Following each of the main events, all attendees in both the group and individual certification programs, must respond to a survey to prove that they listened and discussed what they learned. “I believe, knowing that students who are doing the advanced certification are doing it by themselves and not for their organizations, I believe that goes to show that this is not just a trend, but people are actually wanting to do better,” Joiner said. Along with the new opportunity for individual certification, the DEI Certificate Program has evolved this year to highlight more dimensions of diversity. From a guest lecture by diversity educator Jane Elliott, to a pledge to normalize asking for preferred gender pronouns, to a panel discussion about the complexity of equality and equity, each event has intentionally given a platform to different experiences, identities and communities. <strong>CW</strong> / Hannah Saad 17
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