Room to grow: Diversity department thrives in new office

Intercultural Student Programming (ISP) relocated their office, expanded their programs, and is now housed under the Office of Diversity Inclusion this semester.

Last year, ISP was housed under the Office of Student Engagement. Damariz Guerrero, the ISP department lead, expressed that the new office is directly adjacent to the OSE office, but allows for more focus to be given to the work of ISP and their clubs.

“It’s a really great space that we have now, it really feels like our own place,” Guerrero said, “it’s been a really great help to the work that we do on campus.”

The ISP team have dubbed the new office space “The PIER.” According to Guerrero, the PIER stands for “Pursuing Inclusive Excellence and Reconciliation.”

With the change of scenery has come a change in management. Guerrero explained that the move from the OSE office was accompanied with a change in department. ISP is now apart of the Office of Diversity Inclusion, though this change is not an unexpected one.

“[ISP and the Office of Diversity Inclusion] have always worked hand-in-hand, but they were different offices,” Guerrero said, “it was a very meaningful change… it’s like specific to what we work in.”

In addition to the new space and new management, ISP has also added a new club. Guerrero described ISP’s newest club, Peacemakers in America, as a conversation starter in the topic of culture and diversity.

“It’s for students who are starting to engage,” Guerrero said, “to want to pursue more into this conversation and how they can be an advocate and an ally for other students.”

Throughout the changes though, the goal of ISP remains the same. Guerrero affirms that the purpose of ISP is to create a space for students to enter into discussion about culture, diversity, and who they really are, and to provide understanding in those aspects.

“We’re really here to serve the student body,” Guerrero said, “to bring awareness, to bring knowledge, to advocate for students.”