All of the interviews, photos, and documents tell a story that must be understood to ensure that the Seton Hill University community is a place where people of all backgrounds can feel welcome. Nothing can be done without intentionally observing and understanding the trends in the available information. Students have historically desired more Black representation in faculty and staff and have been vocal about how it impacted the quality of their Seton Hill experience when given the opportunity. They have desired safe spaces to meet, educate their peers, and advocate for themselves, and have carved out these spaces. However, these groups have
fizzled out due to lack of support, leading another to emerge later on. Despite this deprivation, Black students have been able to identify faculty they believed to be safe spaces to communicate their concerns and share their perspectives while simultaneously identifying those who would not provide them with this environment. There is an evident lack of classes about Black life, culture, and realities across all majors, and those offered in the past were short-lived. Lastly, while searching for information it became clear that there is significant underrepresentation of Black campus life in the university's archives. Materials are few, and those that do exist are not extensive, nor are they organized in ways that make them easy to access. Though these findings are concerning, they provide us with an opportunity to formulate plans to address them to the best of our ability. Having the conversations necessary to combat these issues transparently prevents us from carrying these issues into the future of the Seton Hill community, and displays to future Black students and families that their identities and presences are priorities to the institution.
It serves as a time capsule for Black Seton Hill community members that can forever be updated. It makes clear to us what has worked and what hasn't while giving us access to the great ideas of the past that can be revisited to impact the Black student body positively, and consequently the larger student body.
It provides a reference point for the demands, complaints, successes, and requests of Black students when having conversations about campus decisions.
It sets a standard and increases institutional accountability. Let's make sure we take the time to consider what is working currently and take notes from the mouths of the students themselves. Is the institution reverting to old patterns or ways of thinking? Are there unsettled issues that can have actions taken to resolve them?
It serves as the first established platform for Black history work at Seton Hill University, and is a place for it to be collected, preserved, and used as an educational tool for years to come. The infrastructure is here to ensure historical and archival Black representation on campus.