The UCA administration has been clear about the college’s social commitments going forward. UCA hosted its inaugural DBIE (Diversity, Belonging, Inclusion and Equity) week from Oct. 3-7. Different panel discussions were held throughout the week to promote DBIE on campus and Conway community.

A panel discussion titled “How Can the World’s Religions Promote Diversity, Belonging, Inclusion, and Equity?: A Dialogue” brought together six UCA faculty from varying religious backgrounds. Some of the religions discussed were Protestantism, Mormonism, Judaism and Islam. 

Jewish panelist Phillip Spivey said, “Most world religions are willing to communicate with each other and understand each other through events called interfaith dialogues. I’d like to see more of these at UCA. Interfaith dialogues are where you have a panel of different people from different religions and they are given a particular topic, say, a topic like immortality. Then students in the audience get to see different religious perspectives on that particular topic,” Spivey said.

Muslim panelist Matthew Smith talked about experiencing belonging.

“It’s incredible to see a welcoming feeling in what you can and can’t eat. At different organizations and different events, my colleagues are thinking of me like ‘hey Matt, we got this for you- a pasta salad with no meat’ and it gives me that feeling of belonging when they think of me while preparing the food” Smith said.

Christian panelist Mary Lackie talked about her time abroad, “When I lived in Muslim countries I talked to my friends and colleagues a lot about what they believed about Islam and I was so surprised to learn about all the common beliefs and common values across the religions,” Lackie said.

“It was very encouraging and powerful to see the amount of people at the discussion and on the panel” President Houston Davis said. “The panel was really diverse and sometimes you see a panel with two or three people and it can be difficult for everyone to feel heard.”

“Whether it’s three students or fifty that come to these events, I think they are important to continue, especially after COVID. You have almost two years where you couldn’t hold in-person panels, and so it’s important that these conversations continue” Davis said.