On Sunday, March 9th, St. Ambrose President Dr. Amy Novak and the Student Government Association hosted a student forum to address ongoing developments affecting diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at the state and federal levels.
Student Government Association President Jack Day stated, “I had a…check-in meeting with President Novak a couple of weeks ago, and this was one of the topics…the recent DEI legislation…”
When asked why the forum was created, Day said, “I think our main objective was just trying to get information out to students…a lot of things are changing quickly, so things are very fluid…we just want students to be as informed as possible.”
Students who attended hoped to hear good news, especially members of PRISM, the on-campus group for LGBTQ+ students and allies.
Mary Allgood, a graduate student, said they came to the meeting “…primarily to figure out where St. Ambrose was standing…
“Knowing that it isn’t immediately impacting students is a good relief.”
Fellow PRISM member Amber Warak said, “I know at least for our community there’s been a lot of concerns, especially with Iowa-specific legislation…
“Our campus hasn’t necessarily had a lot of public information spread about how it’s going to affect us here on campus so that’s what I wanted to get out of it.
“There’s multiple people on this campus that I’ve associated with throughout the years that identify as part of the trans community and…there’s just a lot of fear going around with that in general. It’s going to affect all of us.”
Mallory Snicker, SAU Alum, also attended the forum. Though she isn’t a current student, Snicker attended because “it’s something that impacts people I care about…even if it doesn’t necessarily impact me.”
When asked about how the Iowa legislation may affect her life, Snicker said, “I’d kind of like to stay here in Iowa…but going elsewhere is a thing that I’ve been considering more and more…whether or not that would be good for me, I don’t know.”
Allgood and Warak were disappointed in the forum’s in-person attendance with only a handful of students showing up.
Warak stated, “It was a little disappointing to see the turnout…I know that DEI identities are very prevalent on this university…”
Allgood added, “It just hurts a little bit just because I would think we would want to, at the very least, just show concern.”
Even with the low turnout, Day believes “We have people here who are genuinely invested in their community and seeing positive change in the world.”
Moving forward, the Student Government Association wants to ensure the campus community of their commitment to all students.
If you have any questions or concerns, contact SGA@sau.edu.
