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If These Walls Could Talk

Last year, President Julie Sullivan unveiled ÌÇÐÄÊÓƵ’s new strategic plan, Impact 2030. In it, university leadership articulated their vision of where the institution would be headed and, specifically, how they would get there.

Of the four main pillars of Impact 2030, Chris Harris spends most of his time thinking about “Belonging for All Broncos.” As the director of the Office for Multicultural Learning (OML), which includes the Rainbow Resource Center (RRC), his mission is to create opportunities for Broncos of all backgrounds to find a home on this campus as their fullest selves.

Since 2000, OML has played a central role in building community among SCU’s students, faculty, and staff through diverse programming, including events like the Fluidity Fashion Show and Queer Craft Corner, celebrations for Lunar New Year and Día De Los Muertos, Multicultural Recognition Celebrations for graduating students, and valuable resources like student-led office hours.

This year, OML celebrates its 25th anniversary at a time when Harris knows this kind of work is the subject of increased political scrutiny. However, as a Jesuit institution, he also knows his office plays a crucial role in the University’s overall mission.

Together, we sat down with Harris, OML Associate Director Bernell Nevil III, and former OML Director Joanna Thompson to talk about the office’s evolution at SCU, the importance of community building, and OML’s foundation in Jesuit Catholic values.

Thank you all for joining us. To start, could you explain a little about belonging at Santa Clara? Why is this work so important as to be a strategic priority for the University?

Chris Harris: If you look back, belonging has always been a pillar of our institution. SCU was founded by Italian Jesuit refugees who saw education as a means to advance the common good through the holistic formation of young people. Over the years, the student demographics have changed, like when women were admitted in 1961, but the call to serve and advance the common good remains the same. 

When I was a teacher, I frequently heard the phrase, “You can’t teach a hungry child.” The idea is that we must address and understand students’ realities in order to foster a meaningful educational space. When you develop psychological safety, students thrive. Belonging is a vehicle for psychological safety. And as Santa Clara seeks to be one of the world’s leading Jesuit institutions, belonging for everyone is an important pillar to achieving that mission. 

Bernell Nevil III: It’s like Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. In order for someone to have their needs met at higher levels, they need their foundational needs met first. It’s helpful to think through the lens of identity when considering belonging because not all identities have had the same levels of belonging on this campus over the years. If a student is using the majority of their mental space on thinking about fitting in, then they won’t have the same capacity to access their full potential.

Joanna Thompson: I couldn’t agree more. Belonging is so foundational in helping members of the campus community be seen, heard, and valued. This, in turn, supports them in becoming their most successful self, whether that’s in the classroom, on the playing field, or simply through the interpersonal bonds they create during their time at SCU. Belonging is the scaffold that builds the impact our Broncos have on the world.

Between the three of you, you represent the seven most recent years of OML’s history, but you also know a bit about the history of this unit. Zooming out, what kind of progress has OML contributed to a sense of belonging at SCU in its first 25 years? How do you see this work evolving over the next 25 years?

BN: I think the scope of who we serve has grown significantly. I remind students all the time that OML’s work was historically rooted in race and culture as a result of student activism during the Unity 3 movement. But in 2011, we started to see our mission expand with the addition of the Rainbow Resource Center, which incorporated issues of gender and sexuality. Since I arrived in 2019, we have worked to continue to expand the scope of the office to include social identities such as religion, disability, and socioeconomic status. The intersectional communities that we serve continue to change, so we need to remain nimble to respond to them.

As we press on for the next 25 years, I cannot say with certainty what topics will need to be addressed. However, I am reminded of this quote by James Baldwin: “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” We will continue to face the challenges of our society guided by Jesuit values of being people for and with others to work towards a more just and sustainable world.

JT: Speaking of facing challenges as a community, during the racial injustices of 2020, OML really was at the forefront of contributing to a sense of belonging by bridging racial divides through the creation of Racial Justice Workshops. This program educated—and still educates to this day—members of the SCU community on how to have difficult conversations around race and racism. 

Now, that’s just some of the direct work OML has done. But most of OML’s impact has been more subtle and indirect—changing lives just by simply being here. From parents of Black students dropping by the OML house during Welcome Weekend asking for reassurance that their child will be safe on campus, to LGBTQ+ students coming into the RRC asking how to navigate their sexuality at a Catholic Jesuit institution… it’s in these conversations, which typically happen behind closed doors, where OML truly walks with others, ensuring the support they receive is not just words on a website, but truly a practice in action.

Over the next 25 years, I see OML’s work only getting stronger. Multiculturalism is not just a word; it is a framework where different identities and communities come together to be advocates for one another. I believe that as we continue to be divided in so many ways, the solution will come from our diversity and strength in numbers.

CH: The thing about culture and identity is that they’re like organisms; they grow, respond to the world around them. Across its history, OML supports belonging in our campus community by looking to the students directly in front of us and simply asking them what they need. Looking forward, as their needs evolve, the work will evolve.

For example, the majority of our OML/RRC programs are run by Student Inclusion Educators (SIEs), based on their own observations, experiences, and realities at SCU. These events are educational, community-building, light, joyful, challenging, and critical. The format and structures have varied: dance parties, guest speakers, book clubs, movie nights, Difficult Dialogues, and pop-up clothing exchanges. Yet the work always bends toward the distinct needs of today. As long as we continue to center others, we will evolve in the right direction and help our community be responsive, compassionate, and empathetic to everyone.

With OML’s work constantly evolving based on student needs, how have students shaped OML’s outreach over the last 25 years?

BN: Something I noticed early on was the types of prospective students who would come to our table at events and who wouldn’t. Often, white students walked right past our table because they didn’t see themselves in the work. I remember talking to Joanna about that, because while our office often centers historically marginalized identities, our white students have their own identities, experiences, cultural background, and language that they bring to the table.

Back in the late ’90s and early 2000s, I think people saw whiteness as nothingness. I remember once talking to a white student who was Lithuanian but didn’t feel he had a culture—and I was like, “You’re Lithuanian—you have customs, food, language, and so many other parts of your cultural and national heritage.” I think until we can all name and claim who we are, we’re not going to be able to effectively show up for each other in our community.

JT: I think that’s why this work continues to be so important. As much as I would love to not need an office like OML, we’re not there yet, right? Not everybody has gotten to that point where they can feel comfortable coming up to an office like OML and be in conversation with people from different backgrounds.

CH: One thing that’s interesting is how we are often a mirror to what’s happening in society. The book “White Fragility” in 2018 was a significant shift in how white folks felt either attacked or that their whiteness was a burden. And I think OML had to ask: How do we respond as an institution? What kind of pride, or lack thereof, or insecurity are people now coming into because of this?

Talking about the political moment we’re currently in, some people might feel like camaraderie and community come very naturally on college campuses—that fostering belonging doesn’t need its own office. What’s your take on that? 

CH: I actually just had this conversation with my homeboy—for context, he’s a police officer in a suburb outside of Detroit, and so he and I have talked a lot about his perspective and experience navigating his Blackness as a police officer.

So, he reached out to me like, “Hey, man, do you think companies or institutions could be effective and do their organization’s work well without DEI offices? Do we need them?”

And my response was that the goal of any office dedicated to inclusion and belonging is to create a world where we don’t need those offices. The intention is for organizations, companies, education systems, and elected officials to already be thoughtful and empathetic to the communities and constituents that they serve, but sometimes you need help identifying blind spots. That could be things like what it’s like for working-class folks traveling back and forth to work, accessibility issues, or non-Christian holidays… I was like, “Bro, it’s Ramadan right now and at SCU we’re making iftar snack packs and ensuring students who are fasting get academic accommodations. What is your police force doing to make sure that you’re being responsive to not only the Muslim employees that you have, but also to the Muslim communities that you serve?”

JT: So many of our reasons for getting into this kind of work are so personal and connected to our experiences growing up. And when you think about a college campus, it’s often many students’ first time coming into contact with people who are not like them. 

On one hand, it can be a hot mess because you’re navigating all of these different firsts for the first time. But, on the other hand, that melting pot is where the magic happens. Not only are you meeting new people for the first time, but you’re meeting yourself for the first time in a lot of ways. 

Offices like OML and the RRC exist to be that facilitator and that conduit for all of those magic points by exposing folks to new perspectives.

BN: I absolutely agree. In reality, this school could function without our office. But it would be a different type of environment. Often, students feel like they don’t see enough effort from larger institutions like Santa Clara to care about their culture, their traditions, their holidays—and consequently, they don’t feel as seen or as valued.

I often remember an experience at my last institution when I was working in Residence Life. I was having a conduct meeting with one of my students who had been found smoking marijuana in the halls. It was his second or third violation, and I remember sitting with him to understand what he was going through and why he was choosing to smoke.

The conversation revealed a lot. Since the student demographics were 85-90% white at the time, being mixed race made him feel like he stood out and wasn’t being treated the same. Smoking became his way of coping. He’d also seen other students smoke, but they weren’t getting caught or documented, which made him feel even more targeted and isolated.

I asked him to meet with me regularly as a follow-up, and he said I was the only one who actually took the time to just talk to him, understand his perspective, and make him feel appreciated on campus.

I felt bad that there wasn’t anyone else doing that for him. But, even though it wasn’t my job, I was thankful I was able to provide that space and holistic care. It was actually that experience that inspired me to get into this kind of work, and why I’m so glad that OML plays that kind of role at SCU.

We mentioned the importance of tradition on a campus like Santa Clara. How have SCU’s Jesuit values infused the work that OML does on campus?

CH: Shared vision is so important. It’s important for any organization to say: “This is who we are,” and there are a million ways we go about doing that. That’s one of the beauties of higher education. You can go to BYU, a small liberal arts school out east, an HBCU—no matter where you go, you’re trying to find the place you feel represents your values.

I always tell the story of when my wife Kai was interviewing here to become a professor. We were still living in Michigan, and we didn’t know anything about Jesuit values. After she attended this student panel at SCU, she said, “There was something interesting about those students.” As we started to learn more about Jesuit values and the role this institution has played in the South Bay, in Silicon Valley, in California, it was easy for me to get down with these values of caring for the entire person, serving others, uplifting the impoverished and marginalized.

I absolutely believe in leading with compassion and caring for people, and in order to build long-lasting change, you serve the human first and you feed the spirit. I’ve just felt extremely aligned since being here in ways I didn’t anticipate because of that foundation.

BN: Santa Clara is not my first experience with Jesuit higher education. I’ve been in this space for over a decade now, and part of the reason why is our mission and our values. One of the late Pope Francis’ was walking with the excluded and making sure that those of us who are struggling the most are being cared for, loved, and seen. I think that pillar is reflected in a lot in the work that I do in this office, because my job is to make sure all our students know that they are amazing individuals and no matter what they’ve had to overcome, I’m here with you because of these things, not in spite of them.

Thinking about the values of caring for the whole person and centering justice, the Jesuit student formation is so beautiful and so powerful and so transformative. I often wonder how my life would have been different had I been shaped by these values as a student, as opposed to just working in this environment.

JT: And like Chris mentioned earlier—we use those values as a guiding light to follow. As we’ve seen throughout the Unity movements and later challenges on campus, it always comes back to Jesuit values. Do we want to just have these words on a page, or are we actually going to live them? So, being able to feel the power of transformation, but also the moments of reflection and discernment, those are practices and values I’ve brought with me in my life after SCU.

CH: To add just one point, talking to folks and colleagues at other Jesuit institutions, this school is a beacon in a lot of ways. For example, earlier this month, a group of LGBTQ+ students went to IgnatianQ, a conference of LGBTQ+ students from across the Jesuit universities, and I think we’re blessed that SCU is able to send a significant delegation, usually one of the largest delegations at this conference. That’s a tangible commitment.

You’ve all talked about how OML’s work isn’t just lip service or theoretical. How does OML’s impact tangibly follow students after their time at SCU?

CH: It depends on the student. From my perspective, the students who engage a lot with the Jesuit values while they’re here leave with a sense of spiritual connectedness, discernment, and how their identities engage with others. Not only do these values guide how they connect to the world, they also guide how alumni seek to serve the world, even if it’s not through multicultural or diversity work.

JT: That service component is so important. Many students who have worked for our office have gone on to careers as therapists, psychologists, or even leading teams in corporate spaces. They really do go out and “set the world on fire,” and create those spaces of inclusion and belonging all around the world.

BN: There’s almost a self-selecting nature, because when you come to Santa Clara, you know what you’re getting into. We’re open about our values, our Jesuit formation, our curriculum, and if you don’t want that experience, you don’t have to come here. You opt in to this experience. But once you open yourself up to be changed by that, that’s where that growth and transformation happen.

I’ve told this to many people before: I can teach you how to make a flyer. I can teach you how to lead a workshop. I can teach you how to be a facilitator. I can’t teach you how to care. You either have it or you don’t, and I feel that people at Santa Clara tend to care more than the general population.

What have been your biggest highlights from working at OML?

BN: Honestly, the connections with students. I love supervising students—watching them grow, learn, fail, succeed, blossom, and “become,” as Michelle Obama would say.

CH: I had a conversation with one of our former student inclusion educators (SIEs) yesterday. She’s graduating, getting ready to go to grad school to continue the organizing work she’s done at SCU, like our Israel/Palestine teach-in last year. We had some honest conversations—person to person, radical to radical—where it’s like, liberation isn’t free, and if you do this, I got your back 110%, but also know that there’s going to be a tomorrow. So, let’s really think about what all this means, not for you to be scared, but for you to be aware, brave, and empowered. It’s those conversations and those exchanges to me that give me goosebumps.

JT: And many of those conversations happen in that house at 832 Market Street—so shoutout to that house, because it has been a safe haven for so many people. If those walls could talk, they would have a lot to say. To answer your question, our 20th anniversary celebration on the St. Ignatius Lawn was probably a big highlight. We had such a good group of SIEs and so many people—even Bucky the Bronco—showed up. That speaks to that power of community.

CH: That community, yes. Last year was my first time being with a graduating cohort whom I’ve known all four years at Santa Clara. Through OML, and before that, the Career Center, I’ve worked a lot with Igwebuike, the National Society of Black Engineers, and the Black Business Association. They needed a homie, and I needed them. We needed to be in community with one another, just to see like what’s going on.

The culmination of that was the Black/Pan-African Multicultural Recognition Celebration where I was just dapping up students as they were coming and putting stoles over them. I think about Jesus washing feet, not to equate them, but there’s that pride in service that still brings tears to my eyes. That’s what we’re in the business of doing.