Daemen University’s Center for Diversity & Inclusion hosted the third annual Diversity & Equity Summit on Saturday, April 24. The summit seeks to promote open-mindedness, celebrate diversity, and promote awareness of divergent views on the Daemen campus and within the community. It was open to students, faculty, staff, administrators, alumni, and community members.
“By bringing the Daemen community together, we foster growth, teach students to analyze the world around them, and teach them that the world in front of them is yet to be created and that they are responsible for that formation,” said Jordan Printup, assistant director of the CDI and coordinator for Vision for Success. ”We make them question what role they are going to play.”
The theme of this year’s event was “Advocacy in Action,” focusing on what actionable advocacy looks like, who is doing the work, how they’re doing it, but most importantly, why they’re doing it.
Dr. Helen McCabe, an associate professor in the Department of Education at Daemen, was the keynote speaker and delivered a speech titled, “Global Disability Advocacy: Action and Application in Context.
“It was based on my years of doing disability education and advocacy work in China, focused on autism,” Dr. McCabe said. “I was sharing how important it is to take action, no matter how small, and then in the process of taking action, it’s really important to know the community where you are working. Maybe it is your community, and maybe not. But if not, you learn from the context and the people there. Advocacy starts with awareness, education, and small steps.”
The summit featured three sessions and each presentation focused on the theme of “Advocacy in Action” and much more.
Cameron Garrity, a 2013 graduate of Daemen and the senior graphic designer in the university’s Marketing Communications Department, has presented each year since the summit started in 2021. Garrity said it’s a perfect platform to deepen our capacity for compassion and empathy.
“My presentation was about how I have used the arts to advocate for myself as someone who dealt with chronic illness,” Garrity explained. “Throughout my high school and college careers, I was constantly dealing with hospitals and the world of medicine, so my graphic design and puppetry work became a way for me to tell my story and educate others on the patient experience.”
Emily Weaver, a senior business administration major, said the subjects were engaging, thought-provoking, and offered a lot of perspective.
“The summit was able to bring awareness to various topics. This prompts more in-depth conversations and increases our knowledge of topics that, some, have never heard before including myself,” Weaver added.