(Photo: Natalia Zreliak)
By: Sally Andarge, Staff Reporter
This past week Regis University's Black Student Alliance had a couple of special guests from the office of Residence Life and the Office of Diversity and Student Engagement attend their weekly meeting on Friday Evening. Yadeira Adams Burnett, Assistant Director of Residence Life, and Stephanie Colunga Montoya, Assistant Director of Diversity and Student Engagement, came to BSA for insight on a possible “Student of Color” wing. Although, the idea is only just that, an idea at the moment, there has been some elaborate planning put into it. This is supposed to be a freshman wing, to help students transition and integrate into the Regis community more smoothly.
“Right now we are looking at O’Connell,” said Burnett, answering one of the many questions the students had. Burnett and Montoya came to get feedback from the students and ended up leaving with suggestions as well.
The main idea is to create a safe and inclusive space for students of color, considering Regis is a predominantly white institution. The plan is to make this a place for students to really unwind, and have a space that they can call their own. The two Assistant Directors even explained that the RA of this wing would be a person of color as well, making it easier for the students to relate to them.
In light of the racial tension that took place on campus last year, this proposal couldn’t have come at a better time. Unity and community among students of color is the best way to heal and move past this, not just as a community of color but as a Regis community. With that being said, this student wing is not completely exclusive. The goal of this community is not “self-segregation,” but to create a safe haven for students of color.
Even now, with this idea only in the planning stages, there is a certain excitement building in the colored community here at Regis. All we can do now is keep our fingers crossed!