Isaiah Cubit

Sam Magwani

News writing and reporting

11/6/19

KSUnite

Attending the KSUnite event yesterday I learned a couple of very important things. I learned what diversity means when looking at the Kansas State student body, and I learned that people want to be heard.

During the discussion, it was clear that Kansas State is trying very hard to create a space where everyone feels like they are represented and has a voice. In doing so, they brought many people from different backgrounds, ethnicities, and cultures to speak their mind.

The introduction of the event was making sure that all topics were covered, race, gender, social class, mental health, etc. As it continued people were introduced and a women came up to talk about her struggles with mental health. She gave a really powerful speech about how she struggles with her mental health and even at one point she attempted to take her own life. That to me was very powerful and as a journalist, it is important for people who have stories like this, have a place where they can share it. Sharing something like that could reach someone who is going through the same thing, and could even help them in ways that were not thought of.

Another speaker that was brought out was a Latino man who voiced that he almost did not come and give his speech because he felt there was no change in diversity over that last few years. But he did. In giving that speech he told Kansas State as a whole to work harder on including everyone. Be brought of whe Donald Trump was elected as president and how scary of a time it was, having that going on in the world and walking around campus and not seeing people like him. For me personally, I thought the same thing when Trump was elected but never told anyone because I thought no one could relate. As a journalist, if something has a feeling on something, most of the time there is someone out there that feels the same way. My biggest take away from all of this is that everyone's voice matters. We just have to take the time out to make sure it is heard.