REHS DEI Dashboard

REHS DEI Dashboard

Residence Education and Housing Services (REHS) aspires to become an antiracist/anti-oppressive department. The REHS Dashboard is a key tool for REHS to effectively share how we are helping change systems of dominance and inequity in the department and create a sense of restored community. 

The REHS Dashboard is also a strategic plan and approach to show progress on the achievement of our equity and justice education goals, respond appropriately and in a timely fashion to student demands/concerns, and proactively engage in individual/collective self-work, departmental identity exploration, and transformative organizational/institutional change.  

Please know we do not see this as a final conversation or solution. The REHS Dashboard is only a reflection of an actionable DEI agenda, emphasizing that it is not an outcome, a virtue signaling performance or optical allyship in and of itself but rather a first step in sharing how we are attempting to create a community that is physically and emotionally safe, respectful, and inclusive.

FALL 2023 NEW DEI PROJECTS AND INITIATIVES

  • REHS Student Advisory Council

    REHS STUDENT ADVISORY COUNCIL 

    • The REHS Student Advisory Council (SAC) consists of a group of student leaders that engage in monthly conversations with the REHS Core Leadership. 
    • SAC provides regular feedback and insights to REHS Core team members on REHS’s policies, policies, processes, and procedures. 
    • Assigned student leaders are compensated for their labor and time. 

    SAC’s Goals:  

    • Amplifying and uplifting student voices from minoritized communities within REHS 
    • Developing lines of transparency and accountability between REHS and marginalized communities on campus 
    • Building authentic relationships between REHS Core teams members and minoritized student leaders and student groups 
    • Creating a more equitable and inclusive residential experience 
    • Helping Student groups from CORES develop coalition-building skills  
    • Monthly meetings will begin again in September 2023 
  • REHS Student Consultants

    REHS Student Consultants

    • Student leaders doing DEI work are rarely compensated for their time, knowledge, and efforts in workspaces where they are asked to voice their feedback and experiences; minoritized student voices and multiple lived experiences are vital to DEI campus efforts. Students know what they need, and their perspectives should be in the forefront of the conversation.
      • Through this initiative, REHS monetarily compensates its student consultants for their time, knowledge, and work. 
    • Student representatives from BSA, CRU, APASO, NAISO, The Alliance, and Transcend/Transaction consult with REHS teams on current initiatives and programs, this began in September 2022 
    • Group consultation takes place in structured workspaces (task forces, committees, collaborative teams, etc.) and/or 1:1 conversations with REHS and SLE administrators 
    • Student Consultants provide feedback by representing their constituents, as they have been assigned to this position by their individual CORES groups
  • REHS Black, POC and Women's Affinity Groups

    REHS BLACK, POC and WOMEN*S AFFINITY GROUPS 

    • REHS started two (2) Employee Resource Groups with the goal of centering the voices and multiple lives experiences of REHS employees who identify with the following communities: 1. Black, and 2. Women* (REHS aligns with the definition provided by MSU's Women*s Student Services: "We use an asterisk in Women*...to share that there is more to the story. Gender is one part of our identities, and there is more to gender than the binary. The movement for gender equity is work that everyone, regardless of gender, can and should do. We are made up of intersecting identities—including our gender—that shape our life experiences.")
    • Employee Resource Groups are voluntary, employee-led groups whose aim is to foster a diverse, inclusive workplace aligned with the organizations they serve. They are usually led and participated in by employees who share a characteristic, whether it's gender, ethnicity, religious affiliation, lifestyle, or interest. The groups exist to provide support and help in personal or career development and to create a safe space where employees can bring their whole selves to the table. Allies may also be invited to join the ERG to support their colleagues. 
    • In REHS, one of the largest departments at Michigan State University (MSU) in terms of human resources (staff and students), we believe that racial and gender affinity groups give us a safe space to reconstruct our racial, ethnic and gender identities as engaged, positive, aware, and antiracist employees on campus.  REHS employees need to be able to be themselves at work—and that is where affinity groups come in; a group of staff members who share an identity engage with each other in ways they could not with peers who are not able to or do not understand their experience. It is about emotional safety and, in some cases, about the fundamental values of equity, injustice, and liberation. Gathering in safe spaces around shared identity allows staff members to have intentional conversations about how they can subvert the structures that push them to the margins. In turn, these conversations lead RHS to be more sensitive towards meeting the unique needs of different social groups, become more inclusive, and ultimately be in the forefront of the emerging diversity, equity, and inclusion movement at MSU. 
  • REHS, GSCC, Transcend and Transaction Transgender Residential Experience (T-REx)

    REHS, GSCC, TRANSCEND AND TRANSACTION TRANSGENDER RESIDENTIAL EXPERIENCE (T-REx)  

    • The Gender Inclusive Housing team, with team members from the GSCC, REHS and students from TransAction and transcend, is committed to make on-campus housing a safer place for transgender, nonbinary, Two Spirit, gender nonconforming, and all gender expansive students. The team is working with institutional and divisional leadership units in creating to create a living-learning community that provides connection, support, resource development, and targeted events for transgender students.  

    • A proposal was submitted to and approved by departmental leadership to launch the Transgender Residential Experience (T-REx)

    • The university approved the creation of a T-REx Student Support Coordinator full time position, to start in Fall 2023. T-REx floors were approved by SLE leadership in Spring 2023 and are scheduled to launch in Fall 2024.  

  • Racial Equity Impact Analysis Team (REIAT)

    RACIAL EQUITY IMPACT ANALYSIS TEAM (REIAT) 

    • The Racial impact Analysis team launched in Spring 2022. The REHS marijuana policy and the Student Handbook were reviewed through a DEI lens by applying a racial equity impact tool. Both documents were updated with more inclusive language and policy changes that aligned with REHS’s antiracist aspirations,  

    • Review of Marijuana Response in the residence halls and apartments. Highlights include no longer calling MSU police for response unless there are aggravating circumstances and response will be very similar to our alcohol response processes.  

    • Review of the On-campus Housing Handbook and language changes related to transparency about reporting processes. 

    • Review of in-hall conduct process meetings and outcome letters to be more trauma-informed and transparent. 

    • Creation of a post-documentation card for after a resident is documented for a potential policy violation for RAs to hand out.  

    • During the 2022-2023 academic year, REIAT reviewed the Housing Contract, the Room Change process, and the Contract Release process. As a result of this work, the language in both documents was changed, and new ideas have been proposed in order to make the Housing Contract and the Contract Release process more inclusive and engaging for students. 

    • REIAT will complete an in-depth racial equity impact analysis of review all Housing Assignments operational process during Fall 2023. 

  • DEI Training of Resident Assistants and Intercultural Aides

    DEI TRAINING OF RESIDENT ASSISTANTS AND INTERCULTURAL AIDES

    • Through the R.I.D.E. (Reframe-Reboot, Inquire-Interrogate, Dream-Decide, and Enact-Engage) initiative, the REHS DEI, and Residence Education units, in partnership with the MRULE/ICA program, have revamped collective DEI training for RAs and ICAs through the year. 

    • The R.I.D.E. program offers monthly DEI dialogue opportunities for RAs and ICAs to engage in conversations geared toward elevating ICA and RA DEI capacity around antiracist practices, anti-Blackness, privilege, and oppression, Islamophobia and Antisemitism, liberatory tools and the reimagining of a more just society, among other topics. DEI subject matter experts are regularly on R.I.D.E. spaces sharing their knowledge and multiple lived experiences.  

    • During the 2023-2024 academic year, R.I.D.E. offered reflection opportunities to ICAs and RAs in the areas of radical love, trauma informed practices, identity, Islamophobia and Anti-Semitism.  

    • During the academic year 2023-2024, R.I.D.E. will focus on conceptualizing, facilitating and assessing bi-weekly DEI dialogues with the Residence Education Community Directors and Resident Directors. The goal is to elevate collective critical consciousness across leadership staff members in the residence halls and university apartments, and to help equip professional residential leaders with the skillsets to create inclusive spaces with their staff members and students.  

     

  • DEI Training in Residence Halls Provided by RHA and Residential Student Groups

    DEI TRAINING IN RESIDENCE HALLS PROVIDED BY RHA AND RESIDENTIAL STUDENT GROUPS 

    We believe that education occurs inside and outside of the classroom. As such, we have embraced opportunities to educate our residents to be inclusive members of society. Because the hall governments fall under RHA as a tax collecting body, we are not able to mandate programs for the hall governments to provide. However, REHS staff is working with RHA leadership to consider the idea of incentivizing collaborative DEI programming put on by hall governments, residential caucuses, and RHA-sponsored organizations. Additionally, ongoing REHS advisor training and ongoing conversations include advisor development around working with hall governments and residential caucus groups to plan intentional DEI events.  

    The next action items for Fall 2022 are shared as follows: 

    • RHA leadership team training and fall planning, including conversations regarding incentivizing DEI programming for hall governments, neighborhood caucuses, and RHA-sponsored organizations, will take place August 22-25. 
    • Advisor development regarding advising student organizations through planning intentional DEI events will take place at the mandatory October 1st-2nd RHA Fall Leadership Summit and opportunities for check-ins, further engagement, and collaboration will be available during ongoing weekly advisor office hours with REHS staff.  
    • Additional RHA Fall Leadership Summit programming for both advisors and student leaders will include program planning workshops as well as sessions with a DEI training focus 
  • DEI Training For REHS Staff Members

    DEI TRAINING FOR REHS STAFF MEMBERS 

    • REHS Admin has hired a Resolution and Engagement Manager that is working to build a system-wide training on identity-conscious customer experience management, bring a trauma-informed lens, and utilize concepts of restorative justice. The training, still being developed, will be piloted with the Housing Assignments Office.  

    • Facilities – Training series on Gender Inclusive Language and Identity, and other DEI topics – Fall 2022 

    • Service Center Representatives - Training on Implicit Bias, Microaggressions and P.A.L.S. – August 2022 

    • Housing Assignments leadership team – Inclusive Language – Fall 2022 

    • Campus Crew Training Design Series – Fall 2022 

    • Tour Guides – Spring 2023 

    • R.I.D.E. training – Fall 2022 and Spring 2023

    • REHS central staff - SCOTUS decision on race conscious admissions in higher education – Summer 2023 

  • Bias Incident Sharing Template and Protocol

    BIAS INCIDENT SHARING TEMPLATE AND PROTOCOL 

    • REHS is committed to developing accountability to racially oppressed communities (and communities impacted by all manifestations of oppression. Starting in September 2022, the REHS Residential Conduct and Community Expectations Unit will share a monthly bias infographic report with the REHS DEI Unit. This monthly report will be shared with student leadership groups and student leaders. Monthly reports will include aggregated data on protected university characteristics and will be bounded by FERPA and other federal guidelines protecting individual safety and privacy parameter, including identifying information and action outcomes. 
    • An updated REHS bias incident response protocol will also be activated and shared starting in September 2022 that includes the bias sharing action items. Please contact Eduardo Olivo at olivoedu@msu.edu or Dreux Baker at bakerdre@msu.edu if you have questions or for more information on the REHS Bias Incident Response protocol. 
  • Student Activism Leadership Summits

    STUDENT ACTIVISM LEADERSHIP SUMMITS, a collaborative venture involving REHS and marginalized student groups at MSU 

    • Student Activism Summits take place every semester and are organized by REHS and student leadership groups. The goal of these summits is to increase activism capacity around the DEI pressing issues of the time and to help minoritized student leaders and student leadership groups engage and coalition building and develop relationships among each other.  
    • In Fall 2022, the Jewish (Jewish Student Center) and Latinx (Centro de las Razas Unidas – CRU) communities, in partnership with REHS conceptualized an implemented the Fall 2022 Student Activism Summit. In Spring 2023, the Women’s Council and the Muslim Student Association created and implemented the Spring 2023 Student Activism Summit. 
    • The main goal for the academic year 2023-2024 is for RHA to have a more intentional leadership voice within student activism planning committees and partners.  
  • REHS Educational Resources

    REHS EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES: PROVIDING ACCESS TO REHS EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES TO CAMPUS COMMUNITY 

    The REHS DEI Unit, in partnership with other campus units and student leadership groups, has conceptualized and shared with REHS staff DEI educational resources on a variety of DEI topics. Educational resources consist of lesson plans and slide decks designed for dialogues to take place within and across REHS teams and for folx to acquire a baseline awareness on different DEI topics. 

    If you would like to access REHS DEI Educational Resources or if you have questions or for more information on the REHS Educational Resources initiative contact Dreux Baker at bakerdre@msu.edu

    Topics Include:

    • DACA 
    • Black History Activism 
    • Womxn’s Herstory Month/Addressing Toxic Masculinity
    • APIDA History Month & Pride Month
    • Hispanic & LatinX Heritage Month
    • Native American Heritage
    • Transgender Awareness Week/Day of Remembrance 
    • Martin Luther King Jr. 
    • Lunar New Year 
    • International Pronouns Day
    • The National Day of Mourning 
    • International Holocaust Remembrance Day 
    • Black Activism: Civil Rights Movement lead by Black and Queer Communities
    • National HERstory Month: Intersectional Feminism & Colonization, Decolonization, and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women
    • National Arab American Heritage Month
    • Sustaining PRIDE after PRIDE Month
  • REHS DEI Unit Partnership with the SLE DEIB Department

    REHS DEI UNIT PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SLE DEIB DEPARTMENT

    • REHS DEI unit staff members attend weekly meetings with the SLE Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Department at the Division of Student Learning and Engagement. 

    • This partnership results in a more intentional centering of the voices and multiple lived experiences of the most marginalized student communities at MSU. Working closely with OCAT, the GSCC, the MRULE-ICA Program (now under REHS), the Student Parent, Resource Center, The Student Veteran Resource Center and the Women*s Resource Center has helped for our combined student-centered DEIB efforts to be more in synergy with the needs of our students.  

  • Inclusive Hair Products Initiative

    INCLUSIVE HAIR PRODUCTS INITIATIVE

    • In Fall 2022, an inclusive haircare product vending machine was placed in Brody Hall; its products catered to the needs of students who were looking for haircare products which were centered around natural hair experience.  

    • Starting in Fall 2023, an additional haircare product vending machine will be placed in Shaw Hall. This project continues to evolve in a partnership that includes REHS, Caucus groups in the residence halls and Culinary Services.  

  • Sharps Containers

    Sharps Containers

    • On-campus residents who need to dispose of needles or other sharps are now able to check out a personal sharps' container from their Primary Service Center. They are able to check a container out each semester and can visit their service center to replace a full container with an empty one.
    • This resource was requested by the Residence Halls Association, Council of Students with Disabilities, and Transcend.
    • REHS recognizes there may be a variety of reasons for needing access to a sharps container, and the service centers will not ask students why they are requesting one. Learn more.

 

Residence Education and Housing Services Commitments 

  • INTENTIONAL presence, advising, mentoring and genuine relationships between REHS and student leaders/student groups in minoritized communities

    INTENTIONAL presence, advising, mentoring and genuine relationships between REHS and student leaders/student groups in minoritized communities 

    ACTION ITEMS:

    • REHS meets regularly with student leaders and student leadership teams to create authentic relationships with CORES @ COPS and other student groups representing marginalized communities. Examples include Residence Education Community Directors meet regularly with Black Students’ Alliance (BSA), the REHS DEI unit staff members meeting student leaders in CORES @ COPS programs and meetings regularly and REHS Advisors supporting transcend and Residence Halls Association (RHA) student leaders on their fight against structural inequities, among others. 
    • REHS has an ongoing relationship with each of the CORES and COPS student groups, so REHS can proactively address concerns as they arise and co-construct with students’ action paths to resolve those issues
       
  • ENHANCED on-going relationship, support and empower RHA and Trans, Black and Queer student groups in the residence halls

    ENHANCED on-going relationship, support and empower RHA and Trans, Black and Queer student groups in the residence halls

    ACTION ITEMS:

    • The REHS Associate Director for DEI is the advisor for transcend and RHA; a new meeting space was secured for transcend in January 2022 because of a partnership between transcend, RHA and REHS.
    • The South Neighborhood Black Caucus (SNBC), the Dubois Society in Case Hall, RHA and REHS collaborated on securing new furniture for the Alex Haley Room in Case Hall in December 2022. The Alex Haley Room is used jointly by the South Neighborhood Black Caucus and the Dubois Society in Case Hall. 
    • The REHS DEI unit meets with Trans, Black, and Queer Caucus Advisors monthly to share best practices and for Advisors to support each other.
    • REHS’ graduate students for leadership and diversity were assigned to support RHA and the Trans, Black and Queer student groups in the residence halls since September 2021.
    • REHS and RHA have intentionally developed a stronger sense of belonging for Trans, Black and Queer student groups since September 2021 by creating a new ethics of care that interrogates inequitable policies connected to the funding and naming harming practices around gender-inclusive language, for instance. REHS has trained RHA on gender-inclusive practices, bias, microaggressions and P.A.L.S in Fall 2021 and Spring 2022.
    • The planning for creation of a T-REx, to be launched in Fall 2024
    • The Gender Inclusive Housing Committee, a multi-unit and student led coalition that includes REHS, GSCC, Transaction and transcend, developed a proposal that secured the hiring of a new full time staff member who will be hired in Fall 2023 to coordinate student support services for the Transgender community at MSU. T-REx floors will be planned for their launch in Fall 2024. GIH floors continue to expand across the MSU residence hall system. 
  • INCREASED representation of minoritized positions in REHS (RA positions and REHS leadership positions)

    INCREASED representation of minoritized positions in REHS (RA positions and REHS leadership positions)

    The RA team continues to become more racially and ethnically diverse (past 3 years) and REHS Leadership Team teams have also become more racially and ethnically representative. HR DEI best practices in recruitment, selection, and placement of staff members at all levels have been embedded in these processes. REHS continues to intentionally incorporate the new SLE HR DEI tool kit as the framework of all their hiring processes. REHS developed vetted DEI questions that have been placed in the REHS DEI Intercultural questions data bank; these vetted DEI questions are used on all REHS interviews in all staff levels. The REHS DEI unit has grown over the past 5 years. In 2016, the inaugural REHS Associate Director was hired; since 2019, the REHS DEI unit added1 Assistant Director and 1 Graduate student to the roster. Money IS a commitment. REHS believes in aligning financial goals with DEI values.  

    For reference, as of the 2019 census, African American/Black students have made up roughly 7.70% of the MSU Undergraduate population in 2020, but African American/Black and Black (Non-Hispanic) students account for an average of 23.85% of Resident Assistant offerees in the past 3 years.  

    A DEI audit of REHS units will be conducted in Fall 2023. This initiative will help us best understand areas of progress and areas of focus related to representation and the racial/ethnic composition of REHS teams at all levels.  

     

  • REHS commitment to racial equity impact analysis using a trauma-informed care practices lens

    REHS commitment to racial equity impact analysis using a trauma-informed care practices lens

    • The REHS Racial Equity Impact Analysis Team (REIAT) launched in February 2022; Its goal is to analyze all student conduct policies through a racial impact analysis lens. The main outcome is to neutralize manifestations of oppression that are embedded in policies, practices, and protocols around student behavior.  
    • The goal is to review and evaluate all REHS policies, practices, and procedures through a racial equity impact assessment lens, to neutralize institutional harm to students from marginalized communities. 
    • We plan to use this racial equity impact analysis process in REHS housing assignments. This work began in Fall 2022.  
    • The REIAT is composed of REHS staff members, institutional partners, and student consultants.   

    ACTION ITEMS:

    • A comprehensive list of student conduct policies and protocols is reviewed by the team 
    • The team shares recommendations and feedback with REHS Core Team 
    • Policies and protocol are changed to reflect REHS’ actionable DEI commitment to antiracism  
    • REHS supervisors and managers share updated policies with units within REHS 
    • For more specific information on REIAT outcome progress please refer to the section above titled “RACIAL EQUITY IMPACT ANALYSIS TEAM (REIAT)” 
  • A MORE PROACTIVE ROLE of REHS as an institutional DEI partner and as a DEI trauma-informed communicator

    A MORE PROACTIVE ROLE of REHS as an institutional DEI partner and as a DEI trauma-informed communicator

    REHS works directly with other DEI community partners in panels, conferences, and signature MSU DEI programs, with a focus on centering the voices and multiple lived experiences of those communities that have been historically excluded. REHS also has a culture of proactivity, responsiveness, and intercultural sensitivity of departmental responses to current events (locally, regionally, and nationally)

    ACTION ITEMS:

    • REHS releases positional statements for current events on the website, on social media for REHS and with its employees; statements reflect DEI values and an in-depth understanding of the context and the positionality of the department.

    • REHS works directly with CORES and COPS, IDI, ICI, CoREM, and other institutional partners on DEI events and programs (MLK, student activism conferences in fall and spring, etc.); REHS supports student leadership groups’ statements on the bias, prejudice, microaggressions and any manifestations of oppression. 

    • The REHS DEI Unit is an active contributing DEI partner and consultant across campus. 

  • EXPANDED REHS dialogues on race and racism

    EXPANDED REHS dialogues on race and racism

    Overhaul of DEI training for residence hall staff – REHS, in its aspirations of becoming an antiracist, anti-oppression department in SLE, continues to offer workshops, dialogue series (modeled after the MSU Dialogues program) and educational resources on white supremacy, privilege and oppression, antiracism, identity and the issues of the times (in the context of a global pandemic).

    The MSU Dialogues approach has become the standard pedagogical approach for expanding DEI capacity across all staff levels. In REHS, we have conceptualized and implemented dialogue communities since 2019, with approximately one hundred REHS full-time employees having participated in conversations about race and racism with peers in co-facilitated spaces by IDI and REHS facilitators.

    ACTION ITEMS:

    • Increased number of facilitators (from two facilitators in 2019 and 2020 to 4 facilitators in 2022) 
    • Increased number of dialogue communities (from one community in 2019 to 2 communities in 2021 and 2022) 
    • Expanded department levels and positions within dialogue communities 
    • Use an Intersectionality approach 
    • In Spring 2023, the REHS Dialogue program applied the new MSU Dialogues intersectional curriculum in engaging 30 REHS staff members in DEI conversations. 

     

  • DEI climate assessment efforts at all staff levels

    DEI climate assessment efforts at all staff levels

    ACTION ITEMS (Academic Year 2022-23):

    • Work with Student Life & Engagement Assessment Office on framing and infusing DEI climate questions on all Student Life & Engagement and REHS assessment tools; creating new assessment tools
    • Institute an exit survey/interview to be held at the end of one’s role 
    • Establish yearly feedback sessions (attended by ACDs, RAs, & ICAs), in the form of a town hall, led by the REHS Core Team
    • Decide on venue/date/time for town hall involving undergraduate staff and REHS leadership
    • Develop questions to include on feedback survey to undergraduate staff 
    • Develop questions to include on feedback survey to graduate staff 
    • Utilize feedback from surveys to inform direction/agenda for town hall meetings (REHS Core Team Review)
    • Reach out to all REHS teams for involvement in creating exit interviews and employee surveys.
    • Identify other stakeholders for creating exit and survey questions.
    • Assess and determine any other survey initiatives happening with staff
  • Meeting spaces for BSA and transcend in Shaw Hall

    Meeting spaces, furniture and space renovations for BSA, transcend and the Dubois Society (in Shaw and Case Hall)  

    ACTION ITEMS:

    • Rooms have been renovated and/or refurbished to meet the needs of minoritized student communities

       

Black Students' Alliance Demands for REHS 

The following is Residence Education and Housing Service’s response to the 2019 Black Students’ Alliance (BSA) list of demands following racist and hateful incidents on campus. We appreciate the opportunity to continue to understand the recent and daily experiences caused by institutionalized racism that negatively impact our residents’ experiences and feelings of safety on our campus. Thank you to BSA for the continued conversations about the demands and our role in creating a better and safer campus climate for minoritized groups on our campus. REHS will do this very important work to allow more students to feel safe and welcomed at MSU.

  • We demand transparency to the entire student body and not just students in the residence halls.

    We demand transparency to the entire student body and not just students in the residence halls.

    REHS leadership team is committed to regular meetings with Black Students’ Alliance (BSA) and other interested student leaders/groups and is fully committed to creating transparency. 

    ACTION ITEMS:

    • REHS Residence Education continues to report incidents that could fall under the Anti-Discrimination policy to OIE and MSUPD if the incident may also potentially be considered a crime.  MSUPD would send out a campus notification if the reported incident falls within the campus notification criteria (which is informed by the Cleary Act).
    • REHS works actively with the Inclusive Campus Initiative Interim Project Manager and Student Affairs and Services to assist in advocating for a mechanism committing to transparency as noted in the above demand. 
  • We demand consequences to the students who create a negative environment inside of residence halls

    WE DEMAND CONSEQUENCES TO THE STUDENTS WHO CREATE A NEGATIVE ENVIRONMENT INSIDE OF RESIDENCE HALLS

    We aspire to create an environment that is emotionally and physically safe for all students. We acknowledge and name that the safety of many of our students from marginalized communities in our residence halls is endangered when other student communities continue to enact dehumanizing behaviors and actions that are harmful to those who historically have not had access to resources and power and perpetuate systems of oppression.

    ACTION ITEMS:

    • In the situations where REHS would administer the discipline, we continue to use principles to ensure community safety, education, and restorative practices where we would look to have the respondent make amends if both parties agree.
    • REHS continues to work closely with OIE, the Michigan State University Police Department and the Dean of Students Office to provide them with any information that will help them with their investigations and/or adjudication processes. Further, we will work to better communicate to the residents of the halls and on-campus apartments the processes by which each of those offices investigates/adjudicates reports of racially motivated crimes of harassment and/or discrimination
    • REHS continues to critically examine student behavior and conduct processes., including reviewing provisions (sanctions) that stay in the REHS purview and education strategies.
  • We demand validation of the experiences of targeted communities even in the case where it may be perceived as not a bias incident by your standards

    WE DEMAND VALIDATION OF THE EXPERIENCES OF TARGETED COMMUNITIES EVEN IN THE CASE WHERE IT MAY BE PERCEIVED AS NOT A BIAS INCIDENT BY YOUR STANDARDS

    ACTION ITEMS:

    • REHS will begin to develop accountability to racially oppressed communities in Fall 2022 by sharing monthly bias incident reports with student leaders and student leadership groups.
    • New Bias incident response initiative – REHS DEI unit meets with students face-to-face (or virtually) who experience harm within 24 hours to provide support and resources; a process for sharing bias incidents and therefore be accountable to minoritized communities will launch in Spring 2022
    • Commitment to address racist bias incidents through the lens of trauma-informed care practices (REIAT vision and goals outlined above)
    • Examination of racial trauma and appropriateness of bias incident responses
    • Intentionally include trauma-informed care practices
    • Work intentionally with neighborhood leadership teams
  • We demand an action plan and training in place so that Residence Hall staff know how to respond to the occurrence

    We demand an action plan and training in place so that Residence Hall staff know how to respond to the occurrence

    ACTION ITEMS:

    • Training on the response and reporting of hate and bias incidents in addition to other DEI training for Residence Education staff has been completed for the academic year 2021-2022. These pieces of training will be administered every year to all Residence Education staff members.
    • Non-Res Ed staff is trained in implicit bias, prejudice, microaggressions and P.A.L.S. so that all in-hall staff has knowledge and skillsets about how to respond to someone that observes or reports a hate/bias situation. The REHS DEI Unit has already trained Campus Crew members, Tour Guides, HAO staff members, RHA staff members and the Service Center Representatives on implicit bias, microaggressions, and P.A.L.S., as the institutional by-standard response framework
  • We demand the No Hate Crimes Statement “Hate has no home here” should be circulated and sent to students frequently and the university should take a clear stance on hate crime and bias instances

    We demand the No Hate Crimes Statement “Hate has no home here” should be circulated and sent to students frequently and the university should take a clear stance on hate crime and bias instances

    Hate has No Home Here is not another performative pledge nor an opportunity to show optical allyship. We believe in a commitment that is supported by a tangible action plan. Hate Has No Home Here is a framework for equity and justice.

    ACTION ITEMS:

    Expansion of the Hate Has No Home Here campaign

    • We have shared the Hate Has No Home Here graphics and pledge statement in multiple new student communication and all our New Student Orientation materials, and students will see this statement throughout the residence halls at move-in. We will be expanding to student programming and action in Fall 2022. We also will be engaging with SLE divisional communicators and other university communicators to expand our reach to students on and off-campus. 
    • Our “Hate Has No Home Here” initiative is a foundation of what we believe residence hall living must be. We are currently in the process of expanding our inclusive community statement “Hate Has No Home Here,” which includes providing the logo on our website with a link to our commitment and value regarding hate having no home here at MSU, printing stickers to distribute at our hall and apartment service center desks, increasing the use of the logo on dining hall table tents, distributing posters throughout the halls with information on reporting instances of harassment or discrimination, and some concepts which we are still investigating. Finally, we are working to include the logo in our REHS email signature so that students will always have access to resources that will help support a culture of no hate.
       
  • We demand an official policy statement on racial discrimination/intimidation, and that it be fully enforced.

    We demand an official policy statement on racial discrimination/intimidation, and that it be fully enforced.     

    All Residence Education staff (including Resident Assistants, Assistant Community Directors, Resident Directors, Community Directors,  Assistant Directors, Service Center Representatives and Neighborhood Assistant Coordinators) are trained annually by the Prevention, Outreach and Education Department on the university’s Anti-Discrimination Policy, and the division of Student Life & Engagement, for which REHS is a part of, have made the explicit expectation that ALL staff are mandatory reporters of issues of harassment and/or discrimination that would fall under the Anti-Discrimination Policy. Therefore, every incident of harassment/discrimination of which our staff are made aware is required to be reported.

    ACTION ITEMS:

    • All incident reports filed with REHS are forwarded to OIE for review and to the Michigan State University Police Department.
    • OIE determines whether there is a violation of the Anti-Discrimination Policy.
    • If the incident report has potential policy violations in addition to the ADP, REHS works to adjudicate the case or works with the Dean of Students Office for adjudication.
    • In-hall staff is trained to follow the Bias Incident Response Matrix.
    • Per our response expectations, REHS staff implements a community response for every reported incident.
    • REHS is represented on the university’s Incident Response Team.
    • All incidents reported as harassment and/or discrimination also are seen by our associate director for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
    • The Racial Equity Impact Analysis Team reviews our practices, policies and procedures to better serve the entire student body and to neutralize institutional harm to students from marginalized communities. REHS Trainers will oversee framing and disseminating messages. 
  • We demand that each Hall Government plans and executes at least 2 diversity-centered programs per year; this can be in collaboration with Neighborhood Black Caucuses.

    We demand that each Hall Government plans and executes at least 2 diversity-centered programs per year; this can be in collaboration with Neighborhood Black Caucuses.

    ACTION ITEMS:

    • We believe that education occurs inside and outside of the classroom. As such, we have embraced opportunities to educate our residents to be inclusive members of society. Because the hall governments fall under RHA as a tax collecting body, we are not able to mandate programs for the hall governments to provide. However, REHS staff is working with RHA leadership to consider the idea of incentivizing collaborative DEI programming put on by hall governments, residential caucuses, and RHA sponsored organizations. Additionally, ongoing REHS advisor training and on-going conversations include advisor development around working with hall governments and caucus groups to plan intentional DEI events  

    • The REHS DEI unit sponsors DEI student activism conferences in fall and spring working directly with RHA groups and CORES @ COPS student organizations. The next student activism and leadership conference will take place in Fall 2022, co-planned and co-implemented by the Jewish Student Union and the Centro de Razas Unidas (CRU) 

    • The REHS unit conceptualizes and co-plans Dinner with Spartans' experiences with RHA groups and CORES @ COPS student organizations.  

     

  • Increase of minority representation within leadership of REHS.

    Increase of minority representation within leadership of REHS.

    ACTION ITEMS:

    • APA and APSA positions are posted for a minimum of 2-4 weeks both internally and externally (social media and professional job sites e.g., diversejobs.net)
    • The HR Manager, in collaboration with the supervisor, updates the job description.
    • The search committee includes a DEI Advocate.
    • Minimum of 5 people on every search committee, including: 
      Search chair: From another unit or department with or without REHS
      • DEI advocate: can be from any unit
      • One person from within the unit
      • One person from another unit or department
      • One person outside the division
    • The search committee will utilize a vetted pool of DEI questions, and DEI will be infused in all interview questions.
    • The Selection Committee makes a recommendation for hire to the HR Manager.
    • The recommendation for hire is provided to the supervisor for review and approval. If there is a disagreement, a discussion will take place to agree.
    • HR Manager (or designee*) conducts a reference check with the candidate's previous or current supervisor.
    • HR Manager (or designee*) submits all hiring information to Student Life & Engagement HR for processing and MSU HR approval.
    • HR Manager (or designee*) solicits feedback from the DEI Advocate and selection committee about the process.
    • In addition to increasing the number of staff members from marginalized communities within the REHS leadership team, REHS interrogates what conditions (and immediately create action plans to address these conditions) we have created to hire and maintain a higher number of individuals from majority identity groups within our team.
       

     

APIDA Demands for REHS

Following acts of anti-Asian violence, in March 2021 the Asian, Pacific Islander, Desi American/Asian Faculty and Staff Association (APIDA/AFSA)the Asian Pacific American Student Organization (APASO), and the Office of Cultural and Academic Transitions (OCAT) hosted a community town hall, demanding action from the university to support its APIDA student population. Below is the response to the demands from Residence Education and Housing Services. 

  • The Emergency and Wellness Resources guide in every dorm needs to include resources to report acts of racism and discrimination. 

    The Emergency and Wellness Resources guide in every dorm needs to include resources to report acts of racism and discrimination. 

    ACTION ITEMS:

    • After hearing feedback as part of student demands for including information on reporting harassment and discrimination, REHS and Student Health and Wellness came together in Spring 2022 to develop an updated sticker that they would co-produce and co-fund going forward. 

    • The new stickers now list emergency resources, MSU health resources (physical and emotional/psychological) and MSU harassment and discrimination resources. 

    • The new Harassment and Discrimination section provides information for reporting an incident of harassment and/or discrimination through the Office of Institutional Equity (OIE) and resources for reviewing applicable policies and educational opportunities.  

    • New stickers were placed in the residence halls during the 2022-23 academic year.

  • More stringent Resident Assistant hiring and vetting processes to ensure Resident Assistant candidates are the best fit to serve diverse and inclusive communities.

    More stringent Resident Assistant hiring and vetting processes to ensure Resident Assistant candidates are the best fit to serve diverse and inclusive communities.

    ACTION ITEMS:

    During COVID-19 we revamped the entire RA hiring process which now includes:

    • Virtual interviews
    • Interviews spread out over longer periods of time
    • Interviews involve more external partners in the interview process
    • incorporated essays into the process (one question specifically on DEI issues)
    • Interviewees go through implicit bias training 
    • Specific recruitment, hiring and training for RAs places in LLCs and gender-inclusive floors
  • An overhaul of DEI training for residence hall staff.

    An overhaul of DEI training for residence hall staff.

    ACTION ITEMS: 

    • Workshops and Training Opportunities:
    • Campus Climate Workshop: REHS Implications – Task Force for Racial Equity – by Jonglim Ham and team
    • Anti-Racism Foundations and Developing an Action Agenda – by Deborah Johnson and Office for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion team
    • Characteristic of White Supremacy (based on Tema Okum’s article) - by Kelsey Skinner and Eduardo Olivo
    • CAPSTONE – Two (2) White Supremacy Workshop – by REHS Core Leadership Team
      • REHS Core Leadership Team specific strategies:
      • D2l Page as a repository
      • Curriculum: “me and white supremacy” (Layla Saad) chapters and reflection prompts
      • 6 sessions and 1 capstone experience
    • REHS Dialogues on race and racism, using an intersectional lens
    • Implicit Bias, Microaggressions and P.A.LS.
    • New DEI training framework for RAs and ICAs (R.I.D.E.), in collaboration with the MRULE-ICA program – RAs and ICAs engage in DEI dialogues monthly under the umbrella of the R.I.D.E. program (Reboot, Interrogate, Dream and Enact) – these training series for ICAs and RAs started in September 2021 - this is a dialogue based, peer educational model aimed at expanding DEI capacity among all RAs through the interrogation and exploration of institutional oppression, whiteness, antiracism action plans and other manifestations of oppression through a critical race theory lens. Topics (implemented and planned using an intersectional lens, since September 2021) include:
      • Intersectional and inclusive Black Excellence
      • Antisemitism and Islamophobia
      • Gender Inclusive Language Practices
      • Understanding the Moment and Matching the Urgency

    • New DEI training framework for MSU Tour Guides, Service Center Representatives and Housing Assignments Office full-time staff members on responding to bias incidents and microaggressions – starting in August 2022 

    • New DEI training sessions for Campus Crew and Facilities on responding to bias incidents and microaggressions – planned for Fall 2022 

    • Identity-Conscious Supervision, Mentoring and Coaching training for Housing Assignments Office staff members – planned for Fall 2022 

    • The Fall 2022 Student Activism Summit will take place in Fall 2022 

    Additional REHS Educational Resources on DEI commemorations (all supervisors and managers are required to have debriefing conversations with their supervisees on each one of these topics):

    • Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month
    • Native American History Month
    • Transgender Awareness Week and Transgender Day of Remembrance
    • Gender Inclusive Practices
    • Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
    • Lunar New Year and APIDA Violence and Racism
    • Holocaust International Day
    • Black Activism: The Civil Rights Movement Lead by Black and Queer Communities 
  • Required Resident Assistant floor programming centered on DEI issues and community building.

    Required Resident Assistant floor programming centered on DEI issues and community building.

    ACTION ITEMS

    • REHS commits to strengthening the DEI-centered community programming as part of the Residential Learning Model
    • REHS assesses, annually, the effectiveness and seeks feedback from interested parties in floor/hall programming that centers around DEI/community building/fostering a safe and secure environment
    • REHS will track and communicate the DEI-centered programming in the residence halls annually to the student body (plan in motion, shared with student groups during the academic year 2022-23)
    • REHS supports residents and staff members attending MRULE round tables and dialogues

 

ASMSU Requests

Reflection rooms in each neighborhood to accommodate prayer and reflection.

ACTION ITEMS:

  • Space was already identified in each neighborhood to achieve reflection rooms in each neighborhood.
  • Utilized operational dollars to provide any adjustments to the space including paint, flooring, lighting, HVAC, etc.
  • Space opened in fall 2021 in Butterfield Hall, Owen Hall, Case Hall and Holmes Hall.
  • Promote the spaces to students via Live On website, social media and print materials. 

Gender and Sexuality Campus Center Requests

Increase the number of Gender Neutral restrooms throughout the residence halls. 

ACTION ITEMS:

  • Prioritize Gender Inclusive restroom needs for the system.

  • Update Long Range Asset Plan, establish estimates for those within 5 years. 

  • Work closely with The Gender and Sexuality Campus Center (GSSC) and students to describe our plans and funding for gender-neutral restrooms. 

  • Secure funding through plant cash, capital plans, and operations. 

  • Communicate out to partners and the community our plans. 

  • REHS will commit to the ongoing pursuit of increased Gender Inclusive restrooms in our buildings as monies are made available and as capital projects are initiated. 

Gender Inclusive Housing – The GIH program continues to expand and grow, in collaboration with the GSCC and LBGTQIA+ student groups.

Trans Inclusive Housing proposal – The REHS GIH team is planning a Transgender Residential Experience, to be launched in Fall 2024.

RCPD Requests 

More accessible rooms where accessible dining exists

ACTION ITEMS:

  • Assess current accessible space within residence halls with dining.
  • Work with RCPD to determine needs for each building based on annual demand
  • Work with PPO to add space per assessment to the 5-Year Long Range plan
  • Create a tracking tool to maintain permanent and temporary equipment inventories in rooms and stock.
  • Work to fund making spaces accessible per the plan.
  • Create a cross-functional team (REHS/PPO/RCPD) to evaluate individual student needs and collectively plan. 
  • Create a plan to help students familiarize themselves with accessible spaces before occupancy. 
  • Annual meeting with RCPD to provide updates
     

LiberateMSU Requests

We demand that all current and future Resident Assistants receive mandatory, effective, cultural competency training, one that replaces the existing, ineffective model.

ACTION ITEMS:

New DEI training framework for RAs and ICAs (R.I.D.E.) in partnership with the MRULE-ICA program” – RAs and ICAs engage in DEI dialogues monthly under the umbrella of the R.I.D.E. program (Reboot, Interrogate, Dream and Enact) – these training series for RAs and ICAs started in September 2021 - this is a dialogue based, peer educational model aimed at expanding DEI capacity among all RAs through the interrogation and exploration of institutional oppression, whiteness, antiracism action plans and other manifestations of oppression through a critical race theory lens.

Topics (implemented and planned, since September 2021) include:

  1. Intersectional and inclusive Black Excellence
  2. Antisemitism and Islamophobia
  3. Gender Inclusive Language Practices
  4. Race and Racism

Race and racism – examined through an intersectional lens - have been placed in the forefront of all of our conversations due to the history and context of chattel slavery, genocide and capitalism in the U.S”

The training team works with the REHS Associate Director for DEI to make necessary annual adjustments to RA cultural competency training.
 

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