{"id":18567,"date":"2020-09-24T12:27:34","date_gmt":"2020-09-24T12:27:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/?p=18567"},"modified":"2025-02-19T11:46:34","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T19:46:34","slug":"student-diversity-center-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2020\/09\/24\/student-diversity-center-2","title":{"rendered":"A virtual home away from home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Diversity
L-R: Ian Zamora, Diana Betancourt Macias, Erick Yanzon and Miguel Macias. Marc Studer photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By Maria Lamarca Anderson
\nSocial movements for racial justice. Black Lives Matter demonstrations across the world. The coronavirus pandemic\u2019s effects on marginalized populations and on the economy. The outcome of the upcoming general election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are the very real issues students are dealing with as they begin the academic year, said Miguel Macias, director of the University of Washington Bothell\u2019s Student Diversity Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll this, on top of navigating how to learn \u2014 and succeed \u2014 in a virtual environment is causing a lot of anxiety,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One goal in mind<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Macias and his team have been busy preparing the center for the new academic year. He admits to getting a later start in planning because \u201cwe faced the same issues as our students. Every day, there was something new and crushing to our community that would simply exhaust our energy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut now, we\u2019re ready and excited to connect with our students and the UW Bothell community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the team welcomes back returning students and greets the class of 2024, it has one goal in mind: To transform the diversity center into a virtual space that evokes the same feeling of \u201chome\u201d that the physical space on campus has provided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor most, if not all, of our students, the diversity center was home away from home,\u201d said Macias. \u201cA place where they could connect with other students who understood what they were going through, where they could have real conversations about their feelings and fears. It was where they solidified relationships with faculty and staff, other departments and the university in general. The Student Diversity Center is a space on campus that is designed by and for students, providing them a community to feel empowered and a home to belong to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s clear they are still looking for that same connection,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd quite honestly, so are we.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On accord with Discord<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To separate the academic environment from the community-building space, Macias\u2019 team looked for an alternative to Zoom, the platform most used in remote learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe wanted to be intentional about giving students a clear break from the left side of their brain,\u201d Macias said. \u201cWhen you want to chill and just hang out, you don\u2019t want to be in the same mindset as when you\u2019re studying online with your classmates.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team looked to Discord, an app some of the staff and student leaders were familiar with from their gaming experiences. Originally created for gamers, Discord is now used more widely to create a variety of online communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The app will be presented to students at the beginning of autumn quarter, with the idea that they will co-create the virtual communities. Macias said. \u201cWe want to develop these spaces with them, not for them \u2014 spaces for opportunity and hope at a time that can sometimes feel hopeless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What he does know already, said Macias, is that the app will help them create \u201ca virtual space where students will be able to access study rooms, reflection spaces and UW Bothell community resources. We will also have a virtual front desk were students will be able to interact with our peer navigators and intercultural coordinators.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Purposeful programs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Macias is hopeful that the event programming the center staff have planned for the year will empower, connect and activate students \u2014 all students, he said, and especially students who\u2019ve experienced marginalization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n