Korri Wojack – Staff Writer

The Diversity Leadership Council put on their carnival Wednesday October 20 in Alumni Hall. The carnival is held every year so that the campus community has an opportunity to see and learn about all of the organizations that are a working part of DLC during the year, and to see some of the people from the organizations themselves. It’s held as a second chance after the involvement fair for students to get involved with organizations they may not know about, and to get a sense of what events the organizations may have in store for the year.

The Diversity Leadership Council is a collection of 27 student organizations and 8 executive members that advocate for on-campus diversity initiatives by abiding to their core values of community, equity, transparency, and intersectionality.

DLC works to support over 25 organizations that are advocates of diversity and social dialogue at Gustavus Adolphus College, and they act as a collective voice in order to recognize the need to promote, preserve, and protect on-campus diversity. “We help connect campus organizations to each other and to resources, and also to connect students to the organizations and resources that may help them find a place on campus that feels like a community to them,”

“We help connect campus organizations to each other and to resources, and also to connect students to the organizations and resources that may help them find a place on campus that feels like a community to them,”

DLC Co-chair junior Geena Zebrasky said.
If there is one thing that is as important on a college campus as the actual academic education itself, is social education. “Education within a diverse setting prepares students to become good citizens in an increasingly complex, pluralistic society; it fosters mutual respect and teamwork, and it helps build communities whose members are judged by the quality of their character and their contributions.,” wrote the American Council on Education. Diverse college campuses offer more worldviews for students to consider and engage with. College students can learn from peers with different perspectives shaped by a variety of experiences.
The Diversity Leadership Council interacts with students on campus by helping support organizations that create events for students on campus.

These orgs support and promote cultural and ethnic celebration, interfaith partnership, gender and sexual advocacy, and political and social dialogue.

The DLC also listens to what the organizations may think students on campus need. “We also have community resources, like a form on our websitewhere students, or anyone on campus, can submit something for us to talk about in our meetings, and perhaps address in a broader sense,” Zebrasky said.
The carnival garnered a large population. Carnival games, food, and conversation was everywhere. Student orgs were able to interact again with current and prospective members, while students learned more about orgs and how they supported diversity on campus. Conversation, crepes, cotton candy and caramel apples, along with classic favorites such as nachos and snow cones were had by all. Students participated in carnival activities like Planko, face painting, a photobooth, and spin the wheel. Hopscotch, cornhole, spikeball and bag racing required a bit more technical skill, and classic elementary school games were present as well.
Like many events on campus, there was a chance for a prize. If a student visited 10 or more different organization’s stations and got a punch in the punch card that was given upon entrance and the student was automatically entered into a drawing for one of three Amazon gift cards – and the first 180 that finished the punch card automatically got a full size candy bar. The carnival has been held for years, though last year was cancelled due to COVID restrictions.
The Diversity Leadership Council is eager to help individual students and larger organizations alike support diversity and equity in any way they can. They are able to be reached through general committee meetings, or through office hours that each member has, located in the CIE. Anyone can come and reach out to them for any questions.