#PowerofWe redefines diversity and inclusion on campus

The Florida State University Student Diversity and Inclusion Council convened in the late spring in order to “redefine diversity and inclusion” on campus. With the #PowerofWe initiative, they want to spark a conversation and have it serve as a platform for students to define what diversity means to them and the connection they can create with others in pursuit for a common purpose.

Founding Chair of the Student Diversity and Inclusion Council, Inam Sakinah, is a junior studying Biology and Social Science, who wants the FSU student body to go “beyond the buzzwords”. She says she hopes that #PowerofWe will “create a collective platform for diversity and inclusion that would resonate with everyone regardless of their background and aspirations”.

The council have strategically planned different events and forums for discussion around campus throughout the semester to get students engaged in the #PowerofWe. Through their active social media presence on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, along with their initiatives will be able to start more of a conversation on campus and create an active following.

Their initiatives are taking the conversation outside of the box by not just having students co-exist among themselves, but also having them sit down and share a meal or have a student driven round table to transform a discourse into action. The #PowerofWe will also take the stage during the October 29^th FSU v. Clemson game where they will premier their newest Public Service Announcement.

Due to the efforts of Inam Sakinah and the rest of the Student Diversity and Inclusion Council, Florida State University President John Thrasher believes that “their timely efforts are a testament to FSU’s dedication to diversity and inclusion and can serve as a valuable model for other campuses.”

“To us [The Student Diversity and Inclusion Council], it’s an opportunity for FSU to position itself as a model of engagement across difference. In increasing an interconnected world, the ability to engage across difference is critical to our success and as a university we have the capacity to ensure that all of us have the skillset to harness” Sakinah answered when asked why she believed FSU was the right fit to start #PowerofWe.

To Sakinah, being a founder of the Student Diversity and Inclusion Council she was able to see this collaboration go into full effect. The council itself realized how easily they were able to reach a common ground and “initiate something so powerful and profound”.

Inam is a young visionary who possibly just enacted an initiative that is so often passed over. The #PowerofWe is just beginning and is opening the minds of many, while showing them that interacting with diversity and inclusion is beneficial and necessary. When asked what she plans to accomplish in the future with #PowerofWe, Inam hopes that “it will harness a campus culture” and eventually will become a norm on campus.

For more info, visit powerofwe.fsu.edu.