Amanda Vargas and Tania Davis

Over the last five years, diversity, equity and inclusion have been hot topics across many different industries and organizations. Higher education has been no exception. Tania Davis, President of the Black Student Union, and Amanda Vargas, President of the Latinx Student Union here at Lourdes collaborated for an article.

In the article, Ms. Davis and Ms. Vargas discussed the ways in which Lourdes has provided an inclusive environment, and the importance of Black and Latinx communities working together to ensure progress continues. Here’s what they had to say:

“On a campus like Lourdes University, the value of community means inclusion. We, the Black Student Union President, Tania Davis, and Latinx Student Union President, Amanda Vargas, know the importance of this all too well. Looking back on the past couple of years, maintaining a safe space of diversity and inclusion on college campuses has never been more crucial.

BSU and LSU are major keys in giving students a voice and a safe space. Being part of a student union at Lourdes University is more than just a student organization. We provide support, and guidance while voicing our opinions on issues on and off campus. Lourdes University provides us with opportunities to be heard as people and future professionals. We have benefitted from those opportunities to ensure the campus is inclusive. Now with the support of faculty and staff, we continue working towards unionizing the Black and Latinx communities represented at Lourdes.

Utilizing the spring semester to strongly brand ourselves, our student unions are ensuring that inclusivity reaches every corner of our beautiful campus. In doing this, we can hold space for navigating through the often-difficult conversations about the issues facing our Black and Latinx communities.”