Saint Xavier University is a place where you are vowed celebrated diversity. When applying for admissions, minorities were convinced that this school would keep them safe within its grounds, but even the walls function more as confines rather than comfort.
As of late, there is fading faith from the student body, especially from people of color.
President Laurie M. Joyner sent an announcement on March 19th to Saint Xavier students, regarding the white supremacist “It’s OK to be white” stickers that vandalized the men’s restroom.
In the midst of the message, we are reminded of a core value we swore Saint Xavier valued considerably. “Diversity is one of our celebrated core values at Saint Xavier,” President Joyner states, “ This calls us to condemn racism in any form and support everyone in our community regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, socioeconomic status or country of origin.”
However, such claims can only offer so much. SXU’s reputation for supporting diversity has been compromised due to the unfortunate timing between the sticker situation and a recent visitation of the Immigration Customs and Enforcement, an agency associated with the Department of Homeland Security, at the SXU Internship & Job Fair on Thursday, March 21st.
The incident was untimely, occuring only a few days apart, ensuing Saint Xavier’s preach of diversity.
This devastating mishap was brought attention to on platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, causing significant backlash from students, alums, and thousands on social media.
Even if SXU Career Services proves their innocence, featured by an honest testimony that declares they were unaware that this visitation occurred and hadn’t intentionally invited such a notorious agency to partake in the event, it is disappointing that their lack of supervision resulted in ICE’s presence.
Reasonably so, minority students find their trust shattered. Incidents relative to this brew negative emotions from minority students, such as feeling tokenized.
Why should an institution benefit from the reputation of being comprised of a diverse student body, when these students are not being protected?
What is most disappointing is Saint Xavier’s wavering ability to uphold its mission of the Sisters of Mercy. The SOM are known for rejecting anti-immigrant ideology, with a critical concern of “Immigration” which speaks out against an infamous agency like ICE.
While we understand that people are only human and error is inevitable, certain mistakes are just too detrimental to make. And if such a mistake is made, an apology is not sufficient on its own.
The best SXU can do is vow to never repeat the same mistake, and to put in place progressive advancements to counteract the damage in the most effective way possible. This may include providing resources to their minority students that facilitates the prosperity of their education, or even events that cultivate a stronger community.
Conversations need to be held regarding the ignorance of privilege. SXU administration needs to realize the sensitivity of their minority students’ lives, and that their safety is threatened all too often, especially outside of campus.
Saint Xavier has been rebuked significantly, but not out of spite. Instead, it is hoped that through such rebukes that SXU can generate conversations and progressively learn from this detrimental incident.
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