Marist Provides Diversity and Inclusivity Updates

This story has been updated with an additional interview.

In a memorandum sent to the student body on Jan. 15, Marist College outlined its ongoing efforts towards a more diverse and inclusive community. The announcement also commemorated Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy in observance of the federal holiday. 

“As our nation prepares to honor the legacy of Dr. King, we hope the College’s work in this area honors the memory of this great civil rights leader,” the memorandum read. “As we have previously stated, Marist’s Board, administration, and faculty are all strongly committed to ensuring that our institution is a more diverse and inclusive place at all levels.”

According to the memorandum and statistics cited on the college’s website, within the last decade, Marist has seen an increase in the number of students of color applying and attending Marist. Students of color represent 25% of the freshmen class. Seven percent are Black students. 

Marist also highlighted its support of minority groups to ensure their success at Marist. “While it’s important to recruit diverse students, it’s equally important to retain them and ensure that they succeed at Marist. Overall, Marist’s graduation rate for students of color is excellent and substantially above the national average.”

According to Marist statistics, the graduation rate is 78% for the most recent six-year cohort for this population. But, the statement also identified room for improvement: “There is one area in particular where we are not satisfied, and that is the rate of graduation for Black men. This is a nationwide problem that requires urgent attention, and Marist is committed to developing strategies to address it.”

Arthur Pinckney ‘22, cofounder of the Black Student Athlete Alliance (BSAA), wants Marist to both diversify its athletics program and provide support for these athletes. “I would like to see Marist recruit and retain more athletes of color among all programs,” Pinckney said. “I would like to also see a support system provided for minority athletes that they can use to navigate through their time here.”

The main goals of BSAA include creating a safe space and voice for minority athletes, advocating for policy change and establishing a connection with the community. BSAA is a resource for athletes of color, ensuring they are able to thrive in both academics and athletics during their time at Marist.

To foster academic support and success, Marist is encouraging the establishment of Black academic clubs within each school, along with historically Black fraternities and sororities on campus. Marist celebrated the recent establishment of the National Society of Black Engineers in the School of Computer Science and Mathematics. Kaylin Moss ‘22 and professor Ron Coleman were recognized as being instrumental in the club’s founding. 

“The lack of racial and gender diversity in science, technology, engineers and mathematics (STEM) careers inspired me to create a NSBE chapter at Marist,” Moss said. “The club strives to create opportunities for Black students and people of color in STEM fields. We are working to provide a support system and improve the retention rate of students pursuing STEM careers from underrepresented backgrounds.”

Moss said the Marist community was supportive of the founding of the club, giving specific credit to Ron Coleman, Roger Norton, Cynthia Worrad and Greg Lacy, along with others in the department of Computer Science and Mathematics. Moss also said student body president, Roda Mohamed ‘21 and her administration were helpful as she sanctioned the Marist chapter. 

“The Department [of Computer Science and Mathematics] is fairly homogeneous in terms of race and gender,” Moss said. “I would like Marist to hire more faculty from different backgrounds and create more forums for Marist students to provide feedback regarding diversity and inclusion.” 

The college is still working to improve the diversity of its student body. Marist detailed its plan to develop baseline data on the diversity of Marist applicants, accepted students and enrolled students to create strategies to increase the diversity of the student body. Strategies include increasing the involvement of staff, students and alumni of color at the college’s recruitment events. 

In conjunction with increasing the diversity among enrolled students, Marist is also hoping to provide better support to minority groups on campus. This includes creating a campus culture that is welcoming to all. Utilizing feedback from the Marist community, the college is considering establishing affinity spaces. Students of shared interests and identities can organize meetings, discussions and activities in these areas. Along with affinity spaces, the college is actively considering the establishment of a gender-neutral housing option as requested by LGBTQ+ students. 

Creating open discussions for feedback will be imperative for the college in order to implement initiatives to successfully meet the needs of minority groups on campus. Along with senior administrators, the Diversity and Inclusion committee, chaired by Dr. Stan Harris, have held extensive discussions with different groups to receive feedback for its ongoing efforts to improve diversity. The board met with groups including the Black Student Union, Black Student-Athlete Alliance, Student Government Association, Fox Pride and the Alumni Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Board. 

The memorandum outlined the three main goals that Marist’s Board of Diversity and Inclusion Committee is currently focusing on. The first is using data to assess the status quo at the college. The second includes listening to a wide variety of constituencies to understand their lived experiences and gather suggestions on how Marist can do better. Lastly, Marist plans to use this feedback to create an in-depth set of short- and long-term actions that will improve the educational experience, as well as how the community moves forward in supporting every member. 

“Although Marist’s approach to issues of race and diversity on campus has good intentions, sometimes it lacks empathy and is pandering,” Moss said. “I would like to see new faces and more diversity in leadership positions at Marist College. It is vital for those in leadership to be committed to creating a culture that fosters inclusivity.”

Pickney said, “I have listened to and read student feedback of instances where acts of racism seem to be taken lightly when reported to the institution, those sort of things cannot happen,” Pinckney said, “I would like to see Marist push the agenda to address these issues because I do believe they are not doing enough.” 

Emphasizing the need for immediate action, Pinckney said, “Marist College has to stop saying ‘we’re going to be better,’ and just be better. Actions need to match the words that are spoken and stated.” 

Marist College outlined its ongoing efforts towards a more diverse and inclusive community. Source: Tara Guaimano.