Gem had extensive meetings with Todd Stephenson about diversity and inclusion. Katherine worked on diversity and inclusion at St. Andrew’s as her senior project, which included a report of students of color experiences at St. Andrew’s and a proposition for diversity training for white faculty that was never used or even addressed by the administration. Katherine and Gem, other than being the founding members of C3, also in many public and private instances addressed the issue of racism and diversity at St. Andrew’s. Grace Evans and Emma Tuhabonye had also met with Sean Murphy about instances of racism in the student body. Chelan, Amarion, and many of their black male peers had gone to different members in the administration.
There are many more unrecorded instances from students of color and other white students that have gone to the administration about issues of race and diversity. Trust the alumni of color when we say the administration is getting an earful, but they have done nothing but give us empty reassurances or other times sympathetic nods. There is no promise of real, meaningful action, which entails transparent and publicized goals outlined similarly in the AIM survey and have continual progress being made on them. These steps can be more recruitment of students and faculty from diverse backgrounds and reforming a curriculum that better reflects diversity and inclusion. Everyone in the St. Andrew’s community must be driven and committed to the cause of diversity, equity, and inclusion in order to combat the decades of white systemic racism, all the way back to its white flight birth. Anything less should not be commended.