The University of Bubbler (UB), a large, diverse, and highly ranked public institution in the Midwest, has a challenge with diversity and inclusion. When it comes to its summer camps, the problem is especially acute. Lived experiences do not match true promises of variety and representation. Especially for students of color, there are persistent expressions of microaggression and bias among students and faculty, together with a shortfall in cultural competency that well exceeds the status quo. A clear example of this problem can be found in the story of Lily, a 14-year-old who ventured into the UB summer camp for biological sciences. Lily found herself in an uncomfortable situation when faced with the binary restroom options in the science hall.
Despite not identifying as strictly male or female, Lily reluctantly opted for the male restroom due to the absence of an all-gender option; this situation prompted Lily to speak with Ben, the director of the summer camp, to address the issue. Upon learning that there were no bathrooms in the science hall for both genders, Ben informed the Diversity and Inclusion Office about it; this raised concerns about the university’s dedication to diversity and inclusion. The university administration recognizes the obstacles. The student body is divided into groups with minimal interactions, as indicated by campus surveys on climate. The university is committed to revising policies to rectify injustices that have hindered opportunities for minority students compared to white students. They aim to develop strategies to dismantle inequalities.
Olivia, who leads the Diversity and Inclusion Office, acted quickly to address Lily’s situation by finding a solution for their restroom requirements. This incident at UB highlights the challenges in ensuring that colleges are genuinely welcoming to all individuals. It underscores the importance of providing competency training and awareness initiatives. Failure of a science hall to have all-gender washrooms whispers into the mic that the building is incompatible with the inclusion mission. Olivia’s prompt reaction like this illustrates the qualities of leadership of somebody who advocates an inclusive environment. The instance demonstrates an urgent need to generate a strategy that factors in leadership responsiveness, physical infrastructure and cultural competency. The difficulties arising from the fact that the campus facilities do not entirely match the university’s written diversity and inclusivity goals are manifested in Lily’s story, which reveals an equally significant generational difference.
The bias was seen in terms of misdeeds and microaggressions in this example, which reinforces the significance of cultural sensitivity understanding in student services. A story that provides moral, ethical, and legal themes underlies Lily’s story, vividly illustrating the complications of growing staff in higher education. Building an atmosphere that embodies legal and ethical objectives depends on a comprehensive, holistic approach designed to harmonize rules and the underlying concepts of ethics. Such provokes a discussion on the viability of alternatives to traditional university systems, which could result in better support from students from different backgrounds. Lily’s situation exemplifies how various diversity and inclusion measures do not generally take the form of practical implementation. Therefore, the parity indicated by the existence of a genuinely inclusive workplace has yet to be achieved.
Higher education environments typically have one dominating campus culture that impacts the student experience. There is a need for a conscious attempt to close these gaps, as shown in ethnic segregation and lack of student interaction. The particular nature of their experiences was noticed in campus climate surveys. Still, practical methods were prioritized when discussing how students of diverse cultures suffer daily. Second, this university’s commitment to righting the wrongs and eliminating structural inequality is laudable. However, as demonstrated by Lily’s example, such physical aspects as the absence of all-gender toilets in places like the LiveScience Hall also prompt questions about the practical attainment of policy inclusion. Thus, this is what schools should ensure; diversity should be their culture where students get through their academic journeys. Olivia’s prompt and successful reaction demonstrates an example of such leadership. Olivia illustrates adaptive leadership through her practice on Lily’s case and its interim outcome; this active strategy not only deals with particular cases but also represents the molding of the integrated society.
The issues in student affairs departments are examples of linking idealism and pragmatic inclusiveness. Lily’s case is an example of the absence of continuous cultural competence training. The staff should be competent in dealing with diverse identities and creating an environment where no child will be excluded from the community. Microaggressions and biased behaviors within the student body underline the necessity to take cultural competence training throughout the institution. The case highlights the requirement for awareness campaigns that spread the knowledge about the respect and understanding of different identities. Lily’s story is a painful reminder that students can become alienated because of stupidity. Lily’s case in the field of higher education brings to the foreground moral, ethical, and legal aspects of judgment development. The lack of all-gender restrooms raises legal issues regarding conformity with the anti-discrimination laws protecting gender identity. The pragmatic problems of the university with its ethical aspiration of diversity reveal any incoherence between what it wants to be and what it is. Thus, this statement was evident from Lily’s actions and Ben’s (the summer camp director). Lily faced a moral dilemma when she had to decide which restroom to use, not in line with her gender identity. Ben found this deficiency triggered by his duty as he reported the issue to the Diversity and Inclusion Office.
The University of Bubbler’s case is a typical example of the challenges faced by higher education in attempting genuine inclusivity. Expressing legal and ethical values is symbolic and entails a holistic approach that includes physical arrangement, leadership response, and cultural proficiency. The experience of Lily is a call to revolution and change that touches every sector of higher education, for example. The Office of Diversity and Inclusion is dedicated to implementing a well-considered balance of short- and long-term solutions to tackle the significant diversity and inclusion issues facing Bubbler University. In the short run, the university could manage immediate problems by putting temporary unisex signs in the most visited restrooms. Simultaneously, temporary gender-neutral spaces are installed at strategic points, workable short-term solutions until the permanent change happens. Some policies are necessary to provide practical solutions to the dis-equilibrium students like Lilly experience due to such programs as summer camps. Also, it is essential to stress HR practices that promote diversity and inclusion. Highlight the need for cultural competency training for students, faculty, and staff, consistent with the HR philosophy that stresses the importance of development and training to build an inclusive workplace.
Cultural competency workshops should be a swift action to be taken by the university. All of these sessions are intended to improve educators’ and students’ understanding of a variety of identities and to create a more inclusive atmosphere. The institution should react to discriminatory actions and microaggressions by immediately introducing cultural competence, which will generate a polite campus community. Starting a fast response team in the Diversity and Inclusion Office is crucial for quick incident resolution. The team ensures student issues are handled since they are experts at rapid problem investigation and solution implementation. The initiative attests to the university’s commitment to diversity and swift response for lasting change. The university should undertake a complete infrastructure revitalization. To ensure that critical areas have all-gender restrooms, a whole and refurbishment of campus facilities should be conducted. Renovation of existing spaces and integration of inclusive concepts in new buildings will ensure the warm and welcoming environment lives on. Integrating a holistic diversity curriculum into various academic programs is necessary as it will allow us to deal with the root causes of diversity and inclusion challenges. The long-term approach focuses on creating a naturally inclusive generation of students by developing cultural competence right from the start. The diversity education will permanently characterize the campus culture.
In addition, the university should establish a leadership training program for faculty and staff. The initiative fosters inclusive leadership by providing leaders with what they need to deal with diversity and inclusion issues within their units proactively. Thus, leadership of this kind must be created to maintain a culture of respect and understanding in the long run. In your long-term solution proposals, remember to stress the role of human resources in implementing policies that deal with past injustices and eliminate structural inequality by pointing to institutional changes that will empower the excluded groups and distribute the resources more fairly.
Thomas, D. S. P., & Arday, J. 2021. Doing equity and diversity for success in higher education: Redressing structural inequalities in the academy.