‘Uniting Hearts’ Initiative Promotes Allyship
A variety of discussions, movie watch parties and lectures encourage campus engagement in allyship and advocacy
Promoting allyship, better relations among all, is at the heart of a Sacred Heart University initiative.
SHU’s School of Communication, Media & the Arts’ (SCMA) graduate students in the strategic communication & public relations (SCPR) programs—plus undergraduate students in the advertising and public relations campaigns course—teamed up with the Multicultural Center, SHU’s Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) chapter and the Human Journey Colloquia Series, to launch an inaugural campaign to promote allyship, on and off campus.
The three-week campaign started on April 12 and ends on April 30. Various educational opportunities and interactive events are sponsored throughout the month to encourage campus engagement in allyship and advocacy. Also, the program embraces diversity, equality and inclusion initiatives that support Black, Indigenous, Latinx and other people of color, LGBTQ+ and other historically marginalized populations.
The campaign, “Uniting Hearts: Celebrating Differences through Allyship,” will direct initiatives to foster dialogue about how to be a better ally and encourage putting those ideas into action. The events are broken down into three categories: educate, motivate and participate. The goal is to bring communities together, challenge systemic ideologies and acknowledge the need for change. Each week has a theme, with virtual events and programming.
Week one started on April 12, with the theme of “Listen & Learn: Educate Yourself–Get Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable.” Week two starts on April 18, with the theme of “Leverage your Privilege: See Something, Say Something.” The final week’s theme is “Leap with Action: Build a Community of Allies–Be Accountable & Committed.” With the launch of the Multicultural Center, it’s a pivotal time to connect students with the resources to practice their allyship and engage in these important and difficult conversations, organizers said.
“This collaborative campaign will allow us to spread awareness on how to be a better ally and encourage our SHU community to take ongoing action,” said Robert Johnson, director of the Multicultural Center.
Mark Congdon Jr., assistant professor of communication studies and professor of the advertising and public relations campaigns course, said that through community efforts such as this one, students can “connect the ideas of the University’s mission and values with social justice and engage in positive social change.”
Four different panel discussions held by SCMA students, community professionals and alumni will take place during the month:
- On April 20, at noon, join the Zoom for the “Black & Blue Allyship: Changing Hearts through Stories” panel discussion
- On April 21, at 6: 30 p.m., join the Zoom for the “Anti-racism in Communication Industries: Doing the Work” panel discussion
- On April 22, at 6 p.m., register for the “SCMA Virtual Alumni Panel: Communicating DEI Efforts with Internal and External Publics” panel discussion
- On April 26, at 6:30 p.m., join the Zoom for the “The Intricacies of Allyship in CT’s Marginalized Communities” panel discussion
There will also be community conversations held by the Multicultural Center. On April 21, at 1 p.m. and April 27 at 3 p.m. Both discussions are in-person at the center. There is also a Human Journey colloquia on April 28 at 3:30 p.m. The talk is titled “Gloria Naylor: Brewster Place to the Classroom.” Community members can watch the discussion at on Zoom.
“Working on this campaign has been a journey, and hopefully it brings light to anyone struggling with themselves to know there are always places and people everywhere to connect with and bring out the best in yourself as a member of your community and the world itself,” said Taylor Clomiro ‘21, a senior majoring in digital communications, and a student in the advertising and public relations campaigns course.
With the many issues the country has faced over the past year, strengthening the community’s knowledge of diversity and allyship is more important than ever, organizers said. They want to increase awareness of these topics by making the center known to the community and promoting the center’s purpose to bring people in of any race or ethnicity who want to be a part of something great.
For more information on the campaign’s upcoming events, visit the Pioneer Planner calendar, and follow SCMA on Facebook, and the Multicultural Center and SHU PRSSA on Instagram.