By Caleb Wheeler | Staff Writer
In an effort to promote a more inclusive environment on campus, the university has hosted a series of Leave Your Mark events this semester.
According to the Multicultural Affairs website, “The Leave Your Mark 100-level training promotes cultural humility on campus by introducing the concepts of personal identity, appreciation of differences, and understanding of microaggressions.”
Priscilla Serrato, senior coordinator for education and training, said the Leave Your Mark events have concluded for the semester as students are now beginning to prepare for finals.
“This particular semester, we held three Leave Your Mark: Level 100s, and we did a soft pilot of Level 200,” Serrato said. “Level 200 is not set in stone. Our student interns have worked all semester in researching data … and developed their own training that delves a little bit deeper than what we talk about in Level 100.”
Serrato said next year, the goal is to have Levels 100, 200 and 300 offered throughout the course of the semester. She said these events can be tracked on the Baylor website, on the Multicultural Affairs Instagram page or on their podcast.
Serrato will continue working on the development of the Leave Your Mark events over the summer, along with the assistance of Trailblazer Scholars — students who have demonstrated a commitment to advancing racial equality and diversity.
“We just try to educate students about creating a caring community,” Serrato said.
Serrato said Level 100 focused on microaggressions, imposter syndrome and other difficulties people in the community face. Level 200 and 300 events will further develop students’ understanding of these issues.
“We’re also working on other supplemental alternatives, like unconscious bias [and] conflict resolution, and these aren’t just for student organizations,” Serrato said. “They’re just for students who are interested in maybe having difficult conversations with other students who do not identify as they do.”
Blanco freshman Addison Gernenz attended the final Leave Your Mark event on April 17 and said she thought it held good information about identity. The event focused on the diversity of identities within a community, and it included interactive elements for attendees in which they spoke with each other about their pasts and identities.
“I think it was more that I have friends that I know it’s relatable to their lives than it was to me,” Gernenz said.
Gernenz said she thought the Leave Your Mark event was something students could benefit from attending in the future.
