Truth to Power | UofL Student Panel on Pursuing Equity in Higher Education | 4-18-25

On this week's program, we are thrilled to bring you a Student Panel on The Pursuit of Equity in Higher Education that concluded the University of Louisville's 2nd annual Gender, Equity & Climate Justice Conference on Tuesday, April 8th, 2025, 10am-5pm, online. This panel features a number of activists from the Student Coalition for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at the University of Louisville (https://linktr.ee/UofLCoalition4DEI), which started with a small group of concerned students in 2024. UofL Students had seen Kentucky’s House Bill 9 and Senate Bill 6—both anti-DEI bills—fail that same year, but they also saw just how invested Kentucky and the nation was in stripping higher education of resources, programs, and support services from marginalized students and university campus workers. They got together in informal settings at first, created a structure and constitution, and then got to work building out the Coalition. Now, the Student Coalition for DEI is composed of sixteen-member student organizations and countless individual students who have engaged in various meetings, events, and direct actions. The Student Coalition for DEI at UofL then expanded to other public universities in Kentucky and started the Kentucky Student Coalition for DEI. Student organizers on each campus collaborated to host a statewide “Day of DEI” on Friday, February 28th, which gathered over 1,000 participants across the Commonwealth. While Kentucky’s House Bill 4 is set to become the law of the land by June 30th of this year, the Student Coalition is still committed to preserving equity in higher education, building power at the campus level, and pushing back against measures of overcompliance. Please join us for a riveting panel discussion on how the Student Coalition for DEI has fought for equity in higher education and the future of this struggle under new laws and executive orders. You can read and sign the UofL Coalition Open Letter for DEI at https://actionnetwork.org/forms/uofl-coalition-open-letter-for-dei/ This panel is moderated by Savannah Dowell, and features panelists: Bradley Price, Alexandria Underwood, Jaydon Michalczyk, Alexandria Groves, and Olivia Shams. The Student Coalition for DEI at UofL is a collective of student organizers and registered student organizations at the University of Louisville. We work to uphold, protect, and expand existing diversity, equity & inclusion initiatives at our university and stop proposed legislation and policies that harm our marginalized students and campus workers. UofL's second annual Gender, Equity, & Climate Justice Conference took place virtually on April 8, 2025. At this day-long virtual event, attendees learned from campus and community leaders who are committed to challenging and working to dismantle patriarchy, and other systems of oppression. Highlighted throughout were inclusive leadership approaches and key takeaways to advance social justice and climate justice efforts. This Conference provided a space to come together to learn, discuss, challenge, and unite for a more equitable future for all. The conference was organized by UofL's Women's Center, in partnership with UofL's Sustainability Council and many other organizations. Learn more and keep an eye out for posted recordings of all the day's events at https://louisville.edu/womenscenter/signature-programs/gender-equity-climate-justice-conference Truth to Power airs every Friday at 9pm, Saturday at 11am, and Sunday at 7pm on Louisville's grassroots, community radio station, Forward Radio 106.5fm WFMP and live streams at https://forwardradio.org