Lost community found

The nervousness associated with going to a new place on campus peaked for Danielle Thomas when she walked into the Center for Race, Ethnicity, & Diversity Education at Elon University and was immediately invited to play UNO.

“I don’t think you understand, Black people and UNO can become a very intense experience,” Thomas says. “It’s competitive and you have to make sure you know the certain set of rules, which can be different for everyone.”

Thomas, now a senior and leadership fellow at Elon, has been visiting the CREDE ever since, and spends her days working, studying and spending time with friends there. Her job in the CREDE has not only allowed her to utilize her education toward initiatives she’s passionate about, but has also provided her a space to be authentically herself at a predominantly white institution.

“I’ve always gone to PWIs and private school, and sometimes it's exhausting because there's certain things that you have to explain, microaggressions, things that aren't necessarily so vulgar or in your face, but more so subtle,” Thomas says. “It's much easier to do that when you have something to lean on, and people who understand the same issues as you.”

Part of what makes the CREDE so special for Thomas and many other students, is the way it marks itself. According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, a "safe space" is a place, typically on college campuses, that is free of bias, conflict, potential threatening actions, conversations or ideas. The CREDE is not one of those spaces.

Sylvia Muñoz, director of the CREDE, instead identifies the center as a "brave space". Brave spaces are a relatively new concept that Muñoz says opens these difficult dialogues and fosters further conversation on matters pertaining to diversity education.

“I cannot guarantee students that they will be safe in this space, and I believe it’s important to have those conversations that may feel unsafe or uncomfortable at times,” Muñoz says.

One of the biggest controversies surrounding "safe spaces" is the concern for a lack of free speech. According to Ashutosh Bhagwat, author and law professor of constitutional rights and free speech at the University of California at Davis, criticisms of safe spaces are needed, as many serve as echo chambers for like-minded students, and neglect to challenge students to think critically on the issues they’re passionate about.

“There needs to be some level of healthy discourse on these difficult topics because that’s how people truly grow,” Bhagwat says. “Yes it is important for students to have a space of their own on campus, but we have to be mindful of how to do that in a way that is inclusive of others as well, and challenges even its own purpose.”

All of the brave spaces on Elon’s campus are inclusive to anyone who wants to use them, even if they don’t identify as the group they’re marked for. El Centro is a brave space on campus focused more on Latinx and Hispanic student inclusion that partnered with the CREDE in 2017. Other spaces on campus include the Gender & LGBTQIA Center, Hillel, the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life and Disabilities Resources.

Bhagwat says many college "safe spaces" mark themselves to a specific group on campus, and fail as truly inclusive environments. By doing so, they often further separate themselves from the rest of campus, he says.

"I love the CREDE as a brave space because anyone can come here," Thomas says. "Yes it's my little haven sometimes, but it also allows white, LGBTQ and pretty much any group to also make it that way."

The CREDE and El Centro in action

Much of the work done by the CREDE to make these spaces meaningful is done by the students themselves. All of the events are typically planned by the students working there, who receive guidance from office supervisors. Events are wide-ranging, from monthly gatherings to an entire month planned out of events.

One of the more well-attended events is the monthly Café con Leche event in El Centro, Muñoz’s favorite. Muñoz helped begin El Centro at Elon 23 years ago and partnered with the CREDE five years ago. Still, this event remains the most meaningful for her.

“We typically have about 70 students who will come cram into that tiny room, and the irony of this event is that we have never actually served café con leche,” Muñoz says. “I try to structure conversations around Latinx and Hispanic identity, and how our students live out those identities on campus.”

Brian Segovia, an Elon junior and student-worker in El Centro, first visited El Centro during one of these monthly meetings, and says it changed his entire perspective on Elon.

“I think it’s clear that Elon isn’t the most inclusive in terms of racial diversity on campus, and having that space where I could go and be myself and rant about that experience really changed my time here,” Segovia says.

Students gather in El Centro to discuss identity and what it means to be a Latinx/Hispanic student at Elon University. Photo by Samantha Hess

The monthly Café con Leche event typically has some sort of food, but ironically enough never had café con leche. Photo by Samantha Hess

Sylvia Muñoz facilitates identity-based conversations with students, and helps create this brave space. Photo by Samantha Hess

Segovia recently helped plan the agenda of events for Hispanic Heritage Month, consisting of a festive outdoor kickoff with catered food and local dance groups, a film series, various panels of students and professors sharing their identity experiences and an open mic night. These events last the entire month from Sept. 15, 2021, to Oct. 15, 2021.

The CREDE also has a similar month long celebration for Black History Month in February every year, and also hosts the ALANAM Women’s Institute, a Spring conference intended to empower and uplift women who identify as African American/Black, Latinx/Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, Native American, Alaskan Native, and Multiracial. Thomas has helped organize and plan for this conference since she started working in the CREDE her sophomore year.

“When you plan something for so long and see it come to fruition, that was just so empowering,” Thomas says. “Seeing all the women come back and say, we love the sessions and hearing everyone speak, I think that was really special to see everyone just learning from each other.

A dive into events: Elon University Hispanic Heritage Month Kickoff, Sept. 15, 2021

Elon University Hispanic Heritage Month kickoff in Medallion Plaza. Photo by Samantha Hess

Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the independence of Mexico and many Central American countries. Photo by Samantha Hess

Local dance groups brought traditional music and dance to help kickoff Hispanic Heritage Month. Photo by Samantha Hess

Students came together at the Hispanic Heritage Month kickoff to share free food, and celebrate their individual identities. Photo by Samantha Hess.

Much of the event was interactive, and students were encouraged to promote the event to their friends regardless of identity. Photo by Samantha Hess.

As these spaces have promoted growth in terms of minority student involvement on campus, they have also promoted mental health for these students as well, Thomas says. The pandemic changed a lot in terms of programming for these students, and also affected their mental health on campus as well.

According to The Center for American Progress, the mental health of BIPOC students has been disproportionately affected in accordance with the social determinants of mental health outlined by the World Health Organization. Muñoz says she’s held more one-on-one conversations with students regarding their mental health now than ever before.

Segovia says he’s struggled with his own mental health during the pandemic, but having El Centro as a resource made him feel more at ease.

“I was worried a lot last year. About the pandemic, about my parents, my schoolwork and on top of all of it, I was isolated,” Segovia says. “People in El Centro, no matter who they were, were always open to listening to my problems or even just sitting in silence with me, and that meant a lot.”

In a study conducted in the Journal of American College Health, out of a sample of 193 ethnically diverse college students of ranging from ages 18-25, 92% of participants reported feeling either depression, anxiety or stress of some sort as a result of COVID-19. The same study found 90.8% of these students found support in the social systems they take part in. For Segovia and Thomas, this rings true as well in their respective spaces on campus.

The future of brave spaces at Elon

Muñoz has faith these spaces will continue to thrive and grow on campus, but only if retention and recruitment rates of these minority students at Elon reflect the growing minority population in the United States.

Kimberly Romero, the assistant director of admissions for diversity and access at Elon University, says Elon tries to keep diversity of the student body in mind when it comes to recruitment, but it’s a lot easier said than done.

“We study and work at a predominantly white private institution, and not only is that unappealing to prospective students who may not feel represented in that student body, but often the financial side is a big aspect as well,” Romero says.

Romero says the goal going forward is to open Elon’s bubble more, and make the student body more representative of the real world. As of now, while both the United States and Elon have an overwhelmingly large white majority in their populations, the percentages for Elon’s diverse population fall lower than that of the country.

Muñoz believes the trends seen in admissions and enrollment are just as important as the overall population of a year. Much of Elon’s diverse student populations have been slowly growing this past decade, and Muñoz hopes that by the end of the 2020s the school can be comparable to the national statistics.

“It’s so important to have students representative of our country on this campus, yes of course for our students of color to feel represented at Elon, but also for white students who don’t recognize how much of a bubble this is,” Muñoz says.

Elon has implemented various admissions based programs in order to attract potential students of color, as well as programs that promote their wellbeing once they get to the university. The Drive-In is one program dedicated specifically to local ALANAM high school seniors. Local students are specifically reached out to for this one day event to tour Elon, and learn specifically about the opportunities available to them.

“Elon sticks out in Burlington, and I think it drives away potential students because of that,” Romero says. “I think it’s important to invest in your local communities, and I would say the Drive-In is one of my favorite programs we host all year.”

Having a space on campus that solely identifies as "safe" for students of different identities would be harmful to these recruiting efforts, Muñoz says. Having "brave spaces" instead of "safe spaces" creates a more inclusive and appealing environment to all prospective students, not just one type.

Segovia says El Centro shaped his life on campus, and allows him to be fully, and authentically himself every time he steps through those doors.

“I think I would have transferred if it wasn’t for Sylvia and the people that come to make up El Centro,” Segovia says. “Finding people who don’t just empathize, but who understand what it’s like to be in my shoes, has really let me explore and learn who I am.”