Emma Esteb – Staff Writer
The Center for Inclusive Excellence is providing an opportunity for intentional growth, creating meaningful connections, and reaching a population that enjoys reading.
The Diving Deeper Book Club is starting up again this spring semester. The club focuses on relevant topics including social justice, intersectionality, identity, and diversity.
The club will meet regularly throughout the semester to host group discussions about the readings. Official meeting times for the club are still in the works and will be communicated once they are set. The books that will be read this semester are not intended to be overly time consuming, making it easier for students to be part of the club alongside their many other commitments.
The two books that will be further discussed and explored this semester are All About Love: New Visions, by Bell Hooks and We Should All be Feminists, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. The two books are broad, but their views and concepts align well with the beliefs and values of the CIE. These two books were specifically chosen as they “portray relevant ideas and concepts within society and encompass a wide range of identities,” according to Thomas Flunker, Director of CIE.
These two books reinforce the CIE’s driving force and belief that “All Means All.” The book, “All About Love” “explores how to heal divisions between people, within yourself, and within society through the transformative power of love,” according to Marshall Bell, CIE intern. The second book, “We Should All be Feminists” focuses on the importance of understanding and adapting feminism for not only women, but for everyone.
Students will not have to worry about buying the books as the cost will be covered as part of the program. The first email was sent out last week and interest in the club is already high. The email included information about the club and a Google Form that can be filled out if interested in joining the club.
The Diving Deeper Book Club began J-term of 2021 and was a great success. Flunker had a conversation with the admissions committee last year and was presented with the idea of creating a book club within the CIE.
He liked the idea as he said “there were not a lot of activities during J-term last year and the book club would be a great way to reach out to a broader population and provide the opportunity for people to make connections.”
54 members were enrolled last year and the club brought in a diverse group of people who contributed meaningful discussions. One thing that Flunker has enjoyed about the book club has been the new faces that have been added to the conversation.
Due to power of demand, Flunker and Bell have worked together to refine the Diving Deeper Book Club. They have created a better structure and created clear intentions that will help bring individuals together through reading.
Students will be able to meet with different discussion facilitators in order to create important conversations while also being flexible and considerate with Gustavus students’ busy schedules.
The meetings will most likely be a combination of zoom calls and in-person meetings. The COVID-19 pandemic has created many new ways to put on events that have opened many doors for the CIE. Many successful events that were created because of the pandemic, will be continued while other events that happened pre-pandemic will hopefully be able to happen later in the year.
“Sometimes it’s hard to organize all of the pre-COVID and COVID events that have been happening and have been a popular demand to come back” Flunker said. A lot of the student employees have been needed to help with different activities and events. Positive reinforcement and successful events are a great “problem” that the CIE has had to face.
The CIE is very excited to bring the Diving Deeper Book Club back to campus and are hoping to meet some new students. The club is a great opportunity for intentional growth, knowledge and an opportunity to make meaningful connections with others while discussing issues that are relevant to our society.