Space and Grace: Mitigating Bias as Spartans Return to Campus

<p>Christine So (she/her) is <a href="https://asmsu.msu.edu/">ASMSU</a>'s Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer and Senior Advisor to <a href="https://msuapaso.wixsite.com/msuapaso">APASO</a>, that's the Asian Pacific American Student Organization.  Kelly High McCord (she/her) is Director of Human Resources for <a href="https://rhs.msu.edu/">Residential Hospitality Services</a>. Dr. Ashley Green (she/her) is Assistant Dean of Administration and Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for <a href="https://www.isp.msu.edu/">International Studies and Programs</a>. And Dr. Jim Lucas (he him) is Assistant Dean of <a href="https://undergrad.msu.edu/programs/globallearning">Global Education and Curriculum</a> at the <a href="https://undergrad.msu.edu/">Office of Undergraduate Education</a>.</p><p>What's the relationship between DEI and the COVID-19 pandemic? In what ways are people differentially affected based on their identities?</p><p>“We know that some people are at a higher risk because of their race or ethnicity due to underlying conditions, or more so because of lack of access to regular healthcare and preventions. But there could also be differentials in the impacts of dealing with the trauma or the aftermath,” says Green. “So if you come from an area where numerous loved ones have died from the disease, you now have an added layer of trauma or grief that impacts your mental and physical health due to the actual COVID-19 disease.</p><p>“And I have to also mention the differential impacts on our workforce, such as differences in salary adjustments, furloughs, possible inequities in work assignments, power dynamics, and from a personal perspective, women who are juggling heightened full-time work and additional duties at home while managing children being schooled from home. And then more specifically, as it relates to some of the international population, they have had to navigate a number of issues such as border closings disabling them from entering their home countries or leaving to come