Slippery Rock’s Office for Inclusive Excellence offers students many different ways to get involved on campus.
According to Slippery Rock’s website, the Office for Inclusive Excellence (OIE) is “grounded in the Social Change Model and offers programs and opportunities designed to create productive campus citizens who can effectively work with others and bring about positive social change. The Office for Inclusive Excellence provides mentoring and coaching that offers academic and social support, builds individual and self-efficacy, and connects students to the University community.”
The OIE also creates opportunities for students to explore and celebrate other cultures and identities, as well as gives a voice to students of need, while teaching them to be positive advocates for change.
RockOUT is one of the organizations under the Office for Inclusive Excellence. RockOUT is an LGBTQIA support system that aims to make Slippery Rock a safe and welcoming place for everyone. RockOUT holds many different events on campus such as Pride Week, the annual Drag Show, and discussion panels so students can have a safe space to come together and talk about current events. RockOUT also has cookouts, game nights, and family dinners for members to come and be together as a group.
The Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance (FMLA), which has chapters in colleges all across the country, is another organization in the Office for Inclusive Excellence. FMLA is a feminist group committed to fighting for equality both on and off campus. Its members work to squash stigmas, including, but not limited to, the stigma that comes from the word feminism itself. FMLA provides a productive and academic dialogue about feminism by holding different events on campus, such as Take Back the Night, which raises awareness about sexual violence on college campuses. FMLA also bussed students to Washington D.C. to take part in the Women’s March this year, which allowed students to be a part of a historic moment. The FMLA meets on Mondays at 7:30pm in the Women’s Center.
The Chosen Generation Gospel Choir, formally known as the Gospelaires, is a gospel choir on campus. The Chosen Generation Gospel Choir allows for African American students to celebrate religion in a way they are familiar with, since there are not many churches that celebrate religion in such a way in the Slippery Rock Area.
The Student Union for Multicultural Affairs (SUMA) is an organization that is committed to the unifying of cultures. SUMA’s mission is to promote diversity one program at a time. SUMA offers the opportunity for all cultures to be celebrated on campus, no matter how small the population may be on campus.
The Black Action Society (BAS) is another organization on campus. BAS offers students a space to celebrate and to learn about African heritage. BAS holds many events on campus throughout the year, such as discussion panels, the Soul Food event, Pre-Kwanzaa Celebration, the Ebony Ball, and a variety of events for student members, such as bowling trips, cookouts, and bonfires. The Black Action Society has general body meetings at 5:15 in room 322 in the Smith Student Center.
The Internations club creates a network for international students on campus, but is also open to all students. The Internations club mission is to promote
knowledge, interaction and acceptance of the variety of culture and background on Slippery Rock’s campus. The Internations Club’s presence on campus enriches the culture on campus, by opening students up to the different cultures from around the world. The Internations Club holds an International Dinner every year, as well as an International Fashion show. The Internations club also holds round table discussions talking about different current events topics that are important to students. The Internations Club is also sponsoring a trip to D.C. in April to see the Cherry Blossom Festival.
QUEENS Org. is another organization on campus, which is here to empower, encourage and enrich the education experience for women of color on campus. QUEENS is accepting of anyone who is in agreement with their mission statement. QUEENS is a space for minority women on campus to feel uplifted, comfortable and welcome.
KINGS Org. is another organization on campus, whose main goal is the retention of African American male students on campus. KINGS also sets out to challenge the societal stereotype of the black male.
Sister-to-Sister is a student organization that provides an opportunity for all women to express themselves through positive influence.
There are many other clubs and organizations on Slippery Rock’s Campus that are under the Office for Inclusive Excellence, such as the American Sign Language Club (ASL), Men of Distinction, Student Organizations of Latinos/Hispanics and Allies (SOL), the Student Veterans of America (SVA), as well as different mentoring programs such as Jumpstart, and many others. All of these clubs and organizations provide students with the opportunity to learn and to celebrate other cultures on campus. All of these organizations, as well as many others, can be found at the Clubs and Orgs fair in the beginning of the fall and spring semesters.
