On Sept. 16, the Office of Student Inclusion and Diversity (OSID) relaunched its student leadership program in an email to the student body. The SLIDE program stands for Student Leaders in Inclusion, Diversity and Equity.
Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Gauri Pitale said a total of 30 students were selected to participate in this year’s SLIDE cohort. The program will hold monthly meetings on the second Tuesday of each month from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., beginning in Oct. 2024 and continuing through May 2025.
The program will be centered around the book The Wake Up: Closing the Gap Between Good Intentions and Real Change by Michelle MiJung Kim. Throughout SLIDE, Pitale said students will have reading assignments, engage in interactive activities and have group discussions integrating DEI concepts from the book.
“The SLIDE program is exceptional in its co-curricular approach, providing students with the opportunity to develop leadership skills essential for becoming responsible global citizens,” Pitale said. “This is a long-term initiative that we fully intend to continue running at Augustana College.”
Pitale said this is the third time the program has been offered. SLIDE was first developed by Monica Smith, former vice president for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Director of OSID, Ashley Allen previously co-led the program with Smith in its second year, Pitale said.
This year, Allen will be co-leading the program with Pitale.
“I think the main purpose is that there are not just leaders in one office but across campus so that we can give them the tools to help us be a more inclusive campus,” Allen said.
Pitale said programs like SLIDE are “instrumental” in developing student leaders on campus.
Allen said that this year’s cohort consists of students involved in a variety of different on-campus groups, such as community advisors, OSL workers and admissions workers.
“We want to grow leaders so that they are able to lead, no matter if it’s in their organization or Greek life because they’re dealing with diverse students,” Allen said.
SLIDE was open to anyone on campus who found themselves to be passionate about fostering diversity, equity and inclusion. Allen said she hopes through SLIDE students can find their “home away from home.”
OSID’s website states its mission as “creating an inclusive campus community for all students, with an intentional focus on students of color and historically underserved students. We aim to empower students through holistic development and relevant programming.”
Allen said participating students will receive a DEI certificate after the program’s completion, along with eight Viking points.
“This is a great benefit for students, not only to just be in our room with other leaders to learn about DEI, but it’s also kind of an added benefit that’s helping support what professionals or careers are looking for in student leaders with these qualities of diversity and equity,” Allen said.
The following students were selected to participate in this year’s SLIDE program: Mahasen Abdelkarim, Iratze Aceves, Hannah Alvarez, Tanisa Ansong, Aidan Buford, Charlize Cardenas, Jaylen Clayton, Cristina Costa, Lucien Dong, Christian Gonzalez, Aidan Hancock, Riley Jones, Logan Kearns, Lili Leatherman, Rhys Lomax, Joey Maish, Paloma Martinez Palomares, Monica Mawi, Selina Osebre Yawson, Faizan Pal, Bella Perkins, Nhi Phan, Nabila Saam, Ben Samson, Christian Stott, Alice Sylvie, Fati Talibi, Joren Weller-VanHollebeke, Faith Wright, and Amber Zemmouri.
