Two senior editors of the Voice sat down with Smith to interview her about current efforts and future direction for the CDI
Meg Itoh
Editor in Chief
The Center of Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) has undergone various structural changes for this academic year, such as reorganizing separate offices into branches of one organization and gaining new staff with new positions. An interview with Shadra Smith, associate dean of the CDI, revealed how these changes have been paralleled by the CDI’s attempt to redefine their existence in relation to students.
On Friday, Oct. 27, two of the Voice’s senior editors — Editor in Chief Meg Itoh ’18 and Managing Editor Mackenzie Clark ’19 — sat down with Smith in her office. Throughout the interview, which covered a variety of topics ranging from bringing diverse speakers to campus to the role of the CDI during the Trump presidency, Smith emphasized the CDI’s focus on students.
Smith began by explaining one of the motivations behind restructuring the CDI. “The reason we wanted to have CDI be one unit is because we know that all of these areas are not separate from each other; they often intersect,” she said. The framework of intersectionality has been crucial to Smith as she spearheads the attempt to redefine the CDI in relation to what it means to be a student with a multi-faceted identity at the College.
She has also been heavily involved with attempts to bring a student focus in various areas of student life, one of them being the invitation of more diverse speakers onto campus. Smith explained that in the past, the CDI has funded a lot of programs relating to diversity and inclusion out of various academic departments but did not have much say in the planning and execution processes. However, she now wants the CDI to be active in the events they are financially contributing to. “We want to be a representative of what we’re trying to show to others,” Smith said.
Most recently, the CDI had a hand in organizing Dr. Kirt Wilson’s visit to the College on Oct. 23, during which he presented a lecture entitled, “Confronting America’s Racial Paradox: The Civil Rights Movement in Popular Film and Political Imagination.” During Wilson’s visit, the CDI implemented a student focus by inviting a group of students to have lunch with Wilson at the CoRE and discuss racial politics in the U.S.
While this event was a combined effort with the communication studies department, the CDI hopes to put more finances into bringing keynote speakers solely focused on the CDI’s