What does it mean to be included?

To be included is more than just being a part of something, it’s more than just being placed into a social structure. To be included is to be seen, to have a voice that’s heard and appreciated, to be centered in a sense of unity that is unwavered by emotional pressure. That is what inclusion means to me. It’s the coming together of people despite race, gender, beliefs, or sexual orientation to become the embodiment of the things hoped for by the ones who came before us.

This opens the door for diversity. Diversity is birthed once there is inclusion, they work hand in hand like construction workers to build up communities or entire countries enabling them to foster a blanket of social, political, economical, and emotional togetherness in favor of the people.

The road to achieving true inclusivity and diversity is rough and rugged, but it doesn’t mean that we don’t still fight, and we don’t still see behind what the eyes see and realize that everyone is the same but with a different shell. Whether life is a simulation or there is a god at the end of this, we still need to survive and the only way we can do that is through the lens of unity that inclusivity and diversity fosters.

If this is what you believe inclusion and diversity to be or if this is what you wish to see around campus, then VOTE FOR, YOURS TRULY, ROYSTON LESTER. I am running for inclusion and diversity representative on the student government board. The election form is in their Instagram bio (Uhart Student Government) . Together we can create a movement that will tear down those social barriers that aim to keep us from achieving the ultimate goal. Together we will imprint into the minds of the people that inclusion is not tolerance, it is unquestioned acceptance.