Diversity and Equity Center creates cycle of support for CWU students

Finding your place within a college community is essential in making the most of your education and feeling empowered to continue the work of learning and growing beyond the classroom.

At Central Washington University, the Diversity and Equity Center (DEC) is committed to providing a space for students who might otherwise feel lost and alone in the vast, complex campus environment.

Mal Stewman, who became DEC director in September after serving in an interim role since November 2022, said he hopes to further develop that culture of belonging and support.

“One of our students last year told me that she felt this was a great place to find her place, which I just loved,” he said. “We’re really trying to lean into that feeling. The mark I hope to leave on the DEC is that feeling of a space where anyone on campus can just come and spend time in a safe and welcoming environment, and find the help they need to get to where they need to go.”

Hoping to expand its positive influence across campus, the DEC started the 2023-24 school year by launching welcome events for members of the LGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities. The gatherings on the first floor of Black Hall provided students from traditionally marginalized groups an opportunity to find a welcoming, supportive community to help set the stage for their college careers.

The DEC’s open, inclusive approach to students of all backgrounds has been supplemented by a variety of weekly affinity groups, designed to create opportunities for students to discuss their journeys with one other and contribute to a shared sense of inclusiveness.

DEC Student Initiatives Coordinator Jess Eavenson, a senior psychology major, said their work with the center originated in one such group.

“I started coming to the DEC back in 2020, at the height of the pandemic,” they said. “Back then, I was really starved for spaces to just sit and exist, and the DEC rose up to meet that need for me. We had an art night to decompress from the stress of the election, and after that I knew I’d found a place to call home. We’re trying to keep that work going by gearing our space towards peaceful coexistence as opposed to strictly scheduled events.”

Since that time, the DEC’s involvement across campus has grown through partnerships with organizations like MEChA, the Museum of Culture and Environment, SLICE, 88.1 The ‘Burg, the Equity and Services Council, the Department of Africana and Black Studies, El Centro Latinx, and many more. Through these partnerships, along with inclusion initiatives during orientation and in University 101 classes, the center has been able to raise student awareness of its services, leading to an increase in students who come to the office just to hang out.

“We’ve created this living room-style space where students can come and do whatever they need to do, be it socializing with their peers, working on homework, or just sitting and taking a load off,” Stewman said. “That’s something we’re trying to spread the word about, to make sure all students know that they always have a seat at the table here.”

The staff’s work is guided by the DEC’s vision to be a self-sustaining cycle of support that welcomes and empowers students who then go on to bolster the center’s work and draw in more students who might benefit from the services, spaces, and camaraderie.

“It’s something we really push for our space to embody,” Eavenson said. “It describes how people like me come to the DEC to find a space to just be and exist, and wind up loving it enough to contribute to its growth and development as a community.”

As 2024 takes off, the DEC is looking forward to a full slate of events, starting with Q Prom, a dance geared toward the LGBTQ+ community, on January 26. Beyond that, students can expect a series of events pertaining to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Black History Month, Women’s History Month, and others that help promote CWU’s ongoing effort to create a culture of equity and inclusion—not just on campus, but out in the world.

More than anything, Stewman knows that the future success of the center will require collaboration and input from the students the DEC serves.

“Everything that happens here is a collaborative effort, crafted from the ideas, passions, and effort of our students and staff,” he said. “I’m only as good as the team I work with, and this year, we’ve been so fortunate to see that team strengthen and grow. We’re on the right path, both for us and for the students of CWU.”