Southeast Missouri State University has joined a conversation about the importance of diversity on campus with the creation of affinity groups that aim to provide resources to individuals on campus who may be underrepresented. The idea that diversity matters is one that students all over the country have heard about since they took their first steps toward choosing a college or university, but one that is usually pushed to the side. The goal of the affinity groups on campus is to change the way students think about diversity.

Affinity groups are made up of individuals with a common purpose who are underrepresented. Two of the most prominent groups on campus include the Chamber Young Professionals and the Black Faculty and Staff Alliance.

The Chamber Young Professionals (CYP) is an organization that is free to join and is operated through the Chamber of Commerce to help young adults and rising community leaders develop stronger professional connections, learn from established community leaders and grow as future leaders in the Cape Girardeau area. According to committee member and assistant director of outreach for Academic Support Centers, Tameka Randle, "The main focus of the CYP is to help SEMO students become more involved in the community and connect with business professionals." Over the course of the year, the CYP holds different functions, including business networking events such as First Friday Coffee and Business After Hours.

These groups are not just for students. The Black Faculty and Staff Alliance (BF&SA) is a group that was born out of a need to represent black faculty and staff members who are underrepresented on campus. The main goal, according to the organization's founder and coordinator of institutional equity and diversity, Sonia Rucker, is to increase the black faculty and staff population through recruiting more diverse pools of applicants and to retain those black faculty and staff already working on campus. A newer organization, the BF&SA held its first official informational meeting last spring and plan to meet at least two or three times a semester. The BF&SA hosted a meet-and-greet picnic from 4 to 6 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 29, at the Scully Patio. The purpose of the picnic was to help welcome and encourage new African-American students to get to know their black faculty and staff all in one convenient location.

These two affinity groups are not the only ones on campus. In fact, the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity hopes to bring even more affinity groups to campus to help bring representation to other groups, such as LGBTQ. For more information on affinity groups, the BF&SA or new affinity groups to join campus, please contact Rucker at (573) 651-2823. For information regarding the CYP or upcoming events, please contact Randle at (573) 986-6135.