Kansas State University Athletics
SE: KSUnite an Opportunity for K-State Athletics to Show Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
Nov 20, 2017 | Sports Extra, STEP (Stronger Together Excellence Plann, Athletics
By Corbin McGuire
A divide between student-athletes and the general student population can occur naturally for many reasons — their different schedules and facilities used, for instance. There was no such disconnect at the K-State Unity Walk and KSUnite program last Tuesday, however.
Among the thousands of people who joined in were a few hundred K-State student-athletes, coaches, administrators and other employees.
Every one of K-State's 14 teams was represented, as the Wildcats showed their continued commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion. The football team rearranged its schedule to attend. The volleyball team, which played at Baylor the next day, changed its travel plans to take part. The men's basketball team, which played later that day, also took time to support the event and its message.
"I'm really proud of our student-athletes and our coaches and staff that came out," said K-State Athletics Director Gene Taylor, who estimated that nearly three-quarters of the Wildcats' 450-plus student-athletes attended. "We might be one of the most diverse student populations on campus in terms of our student-athletes. Sometimes we kind of get off to our own side, but I think it was really important for us to be involved, for our athletes to learn and understand what's going on on campus, but also for campus to understand that we're in this with you too."
K-State Director of Student-Athlete Arin Dunn echoed Taylor's feelings.
"For athletics, it's really important for us to be part of campus. It's important for our student-athletes to know that we're part of campus, and our mission, our values are the same," Dunn said. "Often times, there's a little bit of separation between campus and athletics. We want to make sure that campus knows we're all together, we're united, we're here for each other. I think it was a special moment for us as an athletics department to show support for campus and show that we're together in this and that we're here for each other. It was definitely something special to be part of."
The event, which took place at the Anderson Hall lawn, included speeches from K-State President Richard Myers, student body president Jack Ayres and Darrell Reese, president of the Black Student Union, among others.
Dunn and Taylor each said the experience was a "big step" forward for everyone involved, but both noted that it was only a step, not the solution.
"Hopefully this is just one step toward the progress that we need to make, and we can make this something that happens every year and we can build on it every year," Dunn said.
"It's a great event, but more importantly this is just the first step," Taylor added. "We've got a lot of work to do. K-State is a great institution. We just need to keep moving it forward by standing up against hate and believing in inclusion and unity."
Internally, K-State Athletics has formulated a plan to do exactly that. Led by Dunn, this five-year, comprehensive plan was built for both student-athletes and K-State Athletics staff. Ultimately, it is meant to cultivate an environment that embraces and celebrates diversity, while also intentionally promoting and practicing inclusion.
On November 10, K-State Athletics received the Outstanding University Award for Diversity, Inclusion and Acceptance at the Eighth Annual Compete Sports Diversity Awards.
"We're really just trying to make sure our athletics department is taking the steps necessary to be diverse and make sure we're including everybody," Dunn said. "I think every day we have to take a step forward to make sure our student-athletes feel like this is a place where they can be themselves, where they can be proud of who they are and embrace their unique qualities because our unique qualities are what make us who we are, and often times the world and society tells us we should be ashamed of those things. We want to make sure that our student-athletes, our staff, our coaches, understand and truly value everybody's uniqueness and diversity."
A divide between student-athletes and the general student population can occur naturally for many reasons — their different schedules and facilities used, for instance. There was no such disconnect at the K-State Unity Walk and KSUnite program last Tuesday, however.
Among the thousands of people who joined in were a few hundred K-State student-athletes, coaches, administrators and other employees.
Every one of K-State's 14 teams was represented, as the Wildcats showed their continued commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion. The football team rearranged its schedule to attend. The volleyball team, which played at Baylor the next day, changed its travel plans to take part. The men's basketball team, which played later that day, also took time to support the event and its message.
"I'm really proud of our student-athletes and our coaches and staff that came out," said K-State Athletics Director Gene Taylor, who estimated that nearly three-quarters of the Wildcats' 450-plus student-athletes attended. "We might be one of the most diverse student populations on campus in terms of our student-athletes. Sometimes we kind of get off to our own side, but I think it was really important for us to be involved, for our athletes to learn and understand what's going on on campus, but also for campus to understand that we're in this with you too."
K-State Director of Student-Athlete Arin Dunn echoed Taylor's feelings.
"For athletics, it's really important for us to be part of campus. It's important for our student-athletes to know that we're part of campus, and our mission, our values are the same," Dunn said. "Often times, there's a little bit of separation between campus and athletics. We want to make sure that campus knows we're all together, we're united, we're here for each other. I think it was a special moment for us as an athletics department to show support for campus and show that we're together in this and that we're here for each other. It was definitely something special to be part of."
The event, which took place at the Anderson Hall lawn, included speeches from K-State President Richard Myers, student body president Jack Ayres and Darrell Reese, president of the Black Student Union, among others.
Dunn and Taylor each said the experience was a "big step" forward for everyone involved, but both noted that it was only a step, not the solution.
"Hopefully this is just one step toward the progress that we need to make, and we can make this something that happens every year and we can build on it every year," Dunn said.
"It's a great event, but more importantly this is just the first step," Taylor added. "We've got a lot of work to do. K-State is a great institution. We just need to keep moving it forward by standing up against hate and believing in inclusion and unity."
Internally, K-State Athletics has formulated a plan to do exactly that. Led by Dunn, this five-year, comprehensive plan was built for both student-athletes and K-State Athletics staff. Ultimately, it is meant to cultivate an environment that embraces and celebrates diversity, while also intentionally promoting and practicing inclusion.
On November 10, K-State Athletics received the Outstanding University Award for Diversity, Inclusion and Acceptance at the Eighth Annual Compete Sports Diversity Awards.
"We're really just trying to make sure our athletics department is taking the steps necessary to be diverse and make sure we're including everybody," Dunn said. "I think every day we have to take a step forward to make sure our student-athletes feel like this is a place where they can be themselves, where they can be proud of who they are and embrace their unique qualities because our unique qualities are what make us who we are, and often times the world and society tells us we should be ashamed of those things. We want to make sure that our student-athletes, our staff, our coaches, understand and truly value everybody's uniqueness and diversity."
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