The Inclusive Campus Initiative (ICI) sponsored by the Office for Senior Vice President for Student Life & Engagement aims to support ongoing student concerns, increase DEI communications and create an inclusive campus ecosystem at Michigan State University. Follow us on Instagram: @MSUInclusiveCampus

WHAT’S NEW?

The ICI end-of-year report is now available. Thank you to everyone who has helped support the first year of the Inclusive Campus Initiative. 
 
Report includes:

• Timeline
• Virtual Community Forum (VCF) Year-end Recap
• What Have We Learned
• Next Steps

The ICI Student Summit is two days away!

You still have time to register for the student summit. (Over 90 registrants so far!)

ICI Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Campus Communities Monthly Lunches

Building on the momentum from the ICI summit, these monthly lunches are offered to professional MSU staff, faculty, administration and academic specialists. The purpose of these monthly lunches is to increase communications, promote collaboration, provide updates on progress of DEI projects, share concerns and ask questions, spotlight a campus DEI partner, and share resources.

• Date(s): Sept. 15, Oct. 14, Nov. 18
• Time: noon-1:30 p.m.
• Location: Brody large private dining room

Campus partners can also join via this zoom link. Password: Inclusion

Campus Highlight

Racial Equity Impact Analysis TEAM (REIAT) led by Kelsey Skinner and Eduardo Olivo

The Racial Equity Impact Analysis Team (REIAT) engages in discussions about Residence Education and Housing Services’ policies and procedures through the filter of the REIA Assessment Guide.

The team then generates recommendations that address better ways to neutralize racial disparities and racial equity for each policy. Once recommendations are viewed and vetted, policies and procedures are appropriately rewritten, communicated and implemented. The team consists of representation from Residence Education and Housing Services as well as other campus partners, including Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, CAMP – Migrant Student Services, Inclusive Campus Initiative, Office of Cultural and Academic Transitions, and MSU Police and Public Safety.
 
We are trying to include the below language in spaces when we have adapted a policy/process.
 
Residence Education and Housing Services (REHS) aspires to become an antiracist/anti-oppressive department. This procedure has been examined and revamped through the lens of a Racial Equity Impact Assessment tool. Racial equity impact assessments are a key strategy for REHS to effectively change structural systems of dominance and inequity in the department and create a sense of restored community. Please contact the Residential Care and Community Expectations team at RCCE@rhs.msu.edu if you have thoughts or suggestions that may help us create antiracist policies and protocols that contribute to developing communities that are physically and emotionally safe, respectful and inclusive.

Highlights so far:

• Review of Marijuana Response in the residence halls and apartments. Highlights include no longer calling MSU police for response unless there are aggravating circumstances and response will be very similar to our alcohol response processes. 
• Review of the On-campus Housing Handbook and language changes related to transparency about reporting processes
• Review of in-hall conduct process meetings and outcome letters to be more trauma-informed and transparent
• Creation of a post-documentation card for after a resident is documented for a potential policy violation for resident assistants to hand out

“When I think about when [Senior Vice President Vennie Gore] refers to the DEI mental model – policy, education and community – I think this is taking the ‘policy’ piece from theory to practice. This could be another way of framing the communication plan around this initiative.” - Eduardo Olivo