The annual Respect the Pack event was held on Tuesday evening in Talley Student Union, with many of the student and faculty speakers addressing the events in Charlottesville, Virginia, last weekend.
Student Body Vice President Mia Connell, a third-year studying sociology, led a moment of silence at the beginning of the event, for all of those affected by the protests in Charlottesville.
“Respecting one another strengthens our relationships and fosters a campus that allows for each of us to succeed regardless of where we come from, the color of our skin, the beliefs we hold, or anything else that makes us different from our peers,” Connell said.
Shelsey Hall, UAB Diversity Chair, followed Connell by speaking about her personal experiences at NC State.
“As a nineteen-year-old in a British literature course, I was forced to sit in awe and frustration as my highly educated professor used the ‘N-word’ as if it was another way to describe a group of people, instead of a word embedded in centuries of hatred,” Hall said.
Hall believes that NC State has made strides in diversity, but there is still work to be done.
“I believe that NC State has a lot of learning to do,” Hall said. “But we are on a great path. We have a lot of people who are working together to further initiatives and programs. There’s still a lot of work to be done.”
Student Body President Jackie Gonzalez, a fourth-year studying political science, shared goals that her administration has for diversity and inclusion on campus.
“My diversity director, J Hallen, who put this whole event together with the help of our campus partners, will be working with me to uplift the voices of marginalized communities,” Gonzalez said. “We want to stand up for marginalized populations through positive, impactful steps.”
Hallen, a fourth-year studying business administration, echoed Gonzalez’s stance, and believes that there is work to be done on NC State’s campus.
“I think that many of the student organizations and departments do amazing work, but there’s still a lot of work to do,” Hallen said. “This year, Student Government and our campus partners are going to be doing our best to improve that climate at NC State.”
Gonzalez introduced Dr. Linda McCabe Smith, vice provost for institutional equity and diversity, who spoke about the events in Charlottesville and steps that she believes students should take to improve inclusivity on campus.
“We all are deeply disturbed about what happened in Charlottesville,” Smith said. “Our road and challenges are ahead of us, as a university, and as a country.”
Smith referenced Chancellor Woodson’s remarks condemning white supremacy during convocation, as previously reported by Technician.
Sophie Holmes, a first-year studying engineering, said that the diversity on NC State’s campus is one of the factors that led to her college decision.
“It was one of the things that ultimately made me choose NC State,” Holmes said. “I looked at a lot of other schools in the area, and NC State made me feel as if everyone was going to be included and welcome here.”
Chancellor Woodson was the final speaker of the event, before students and faculty in attendance were invited to handprint the mural at the Free Expression tunnel, as they pledged to respect the pack.
In his address, Woodson referenced white supremacy by name for the second time in two days.
“I won’t lie to you, this has been a tough few days,” Woodson said. “Everything we saw last weekend in Charlottesville stands in complete opposition to what this university and what this country stands for. So, we’ve got to stand up to white supremacists. We’ve got to stand up to this community.”
