The Associated Students of Madison Diversity Committee embarked a whiteboard campaign March 31-April 4, aiming to give students a voice in the committee's progress towards a more inclusive campus.
Since Monday, members of the ASM Diversity Committee organized on East Campus Mall passing out informational flyers and asking passersby to write down the importance of diversity to them personally. Students responded to the campaign by expressing their opinion on a whiteboard for others to see, along with the hashtag #PrioritizeDiversityUW.
While committee members said the goal of the project is to give students a say in future diversity plans, the campaign also aims to notify students of the recent actions of the diversity committee. A Diversity Plan draft was released to the public by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Ad Hoc Diversity Planning Committee March 16.
ASM Diversity Committee Chair Jessica Behling said the committee wanted to focus on the importance of student awareness.
“The goal is to make sure students know we are in the process of creating a diversity plan, as the majority of students don't have an idea of what the committee is doing, nor do they have an avenue to voice what they would like to see,” Behling said.
Behling stressed the significance of accountability within the committee and its growth. She said she noticed progress in the recently revealed diversity plan draft, but she is not content with what was produced.
"The plan was originally very vague, so I pressured the committee to make improvements. The new draft is better, but not totally what I would like to see,” Behling said.
Members of the committee will continue the whiteboard campaign until Friday at East Campus Mall, Union South and Memorial Union.
