In an attempt to further the diversity at WC, this year the SGA is giving away a new award called the SEED Award (Successfully Educating and Empowering for Diversity). The award was created by SGA Diversity Chair Michael Dushel.
Dushel stated that "the Washington College SGA and its Diversity Chair are committed to promoting diversity and to creating an educational community that is intellectually, culturally, and socially diverse."
Dushel also noted that WC's social and academic environments are developed by people of many different backgrounds. He explained that the SEED award has been created to acknowledge the importance of diversity at WC. "This award recognizes the promotion, enhancement and implementation of diversity by individuals, units, departments, or organizations within the Washington College community," stated Dushel.
Nominations started on April 1 and were due by April 11 at 5p.m. The award will distinguish a contribution that causes change in the atmosphere here on campus.
A $200 prize will be given to the recipient, that can be an individual, department, or organization, and will be spent at the discretion of the recipient and the diversity chair.
The Award will be presented at the One World Unity Festival: a celebration of the Earth and its diversity on April 20. To remember the annual award SEED winners, a plaque will also be displayed in the SGA office.
Sophomore Meg Morris commented on diversity here at WC, "I look around and see nothing but middle to upper class white kids here." Morris misses the larger, more diverse population of students at Radford University, which she attended last semester.
An evaluation is needed to make the school less uniform, according to Morris. "An award is a good start, but we should probably find a more natural way to encourage diversity," said Morris.
Senior Gia Grier presented the fact that 82 percent of WC students are white Americans. She believes WC needs to be more ethnically diverse. Referring to her observations of the WC campus, Grier stated, "If you define diversity as differences, then there's a ton of it, right down to hair color and eye color and religious beliefs."
The award has been met with mixed feelings. "I'm not going to go out of my way to get the SEED award," said freshman Andrew Henderson. He feels the SEED award will not cause a positive change to occur on campus. "People are not going to go to extremes to promote diversity for a small monetary reward," he stated.
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