We belong together.

"Ultimately Dominican’s greatest strength is in its relationships. Fundamentally, the work of diversity, equity, and inclusion on our campus represents the task of building an even stronger community. We are more than an educational institution. We are a symbiotic, living set of rich and sometimes fraught interrelationships (See also Dimension #6: Solidarity, which is inextricably linked to community.) (Faithful, FitzClarke, & Wong, 2020, p. 22)."

Let’s envision a brighter tomorrow.

"Because Dominican is more than just a school, our faculty, staff, and administrators have more than just a job. In different ways and to varying degrees, we have all been driven here by a sense of calling. Many among our ranks could be doing different work elsewhere for more money, but they have been driven by some sense of higher purpose to remain. Because Dominican educates numerous students from traditionally marginalized communities, let us recognize the significant good that we collectively accomplish in counteracting historical inequities. That fact can rank among our foremost shared motivations (Faithful, FitzClarke, & Wong, 2020, p. 24)."

Let’s build the foundation of that future.

"Words alone will not transform our community. We need substantive, structural change. This can mean change to the physical structures of campus, but also to the, policy, social, and cultural building blocks that define campus’s current realities. Each of these building blocks can privilege some while excluding others. Therefore, equity and full inclusion must involve removing barriers of access to resources. (Faithful, FitzClarke, & Wong, 2020, p. 26)."

Let’s learn from each other’s differences.

"What will ultimately make structural change possible and sustainable is an enduring commitment on the part of the majority of the campus community at all levels (student, faculty, staff, administration) to learn. For each of us, our self-education and education of each other must include learning diversity, equity, and inclusion. This must not be just informational learning, but more fundamentally learning about how to do and how to be: how to be more inclusive, how to equitably empower students and each other, and how to be more authentic in our embrace of each other, in all our diversity. (Faithful, FitzClarke, & Wong, 2020, p. 29)."

Let’s amplify marginalized voices.

"Because Dominican has a culturally- and linguistically diverse student body, and because language is one of the fundamental building blocks of both culture and cognition, we propose that language itself represents a key area of opportunity and of necessary action on our campus. By being more publicly inclusive of our students’ linguistic diversity, we can take small but concrete steps that will reinforce progress in the other dimensions (Faithful, FitzClarke, & Wong, 2020, p. 31)."

Let’s empower each other.

"In the context of the unequal power structures of our world, our nation, and our campus, we recognize that the work of equity must prioritize the needs of those currently near the margins. Although perfect equity is unattainable, we can be a more equitable campus community than we already are. Indeed, we must if we hope to survive. Ultimately, student retention, graduation, and long-term success hinges on the health of the whole campus ecosystem. We, together, are only as strong as the most neglected among us. Therefore, our energies in strengthening our team are perhaps best spent in identifying and amplifying the voices of those furthest removed from power, whether by virtue of their position on campus or identity in contemporary society (Faithful, FitzClarke, & Wong, 2020, p. 33)."

Let’s celebrate our shared story!

"We have much work to do on ourselves on our own and on each other together. Some of that work will hurt, because unearthing injustice is uncomfortable, because rectifying one group’s marginalization means rectifying another group’s privilege, because change can be scary, and because structural changes can be costly, both literally financially and, more to the point, personally for those involved. At the same time, we already have much to celebrate, both in terms of what we have accomplished and who we are, both individually and together as a campus community. Therefore, let us cultivate an ethos of mutual celebration, commemorating the milestones of the past and anticipating the milestones of the future (Faithful, FitzClarke, & Wong, 2020, p. 36)."