Stand up

I find it purely sad how unwilling we are, as a university, to work with each other across organizations. I have been a part of a silo campus before, which is still very much siloed, but I take pride in the collaboration which we were able to foster during the past couple of years and how this has continued to grow since I completed my time there.

We talk about what we would like ideally. We have creative and, at first glance, crazy ideas, yet we see that there are politics and a silo culture to which we are so we are stifled and move to the wayside.

We are stifled and move to the wayside.

What happens when we stand up and fight against it? Lets come back to this.


We share ideas and create a vision, goals, of what we want. Eventually someone is appointed to take the lead. They run with it and bring the beginning bits back to the group, and now, quickly, with and without anticipation, we are brought back to the politics and silo nature of our reality. Accredited qualifications are no longer qualifying.

What is qualified or, the true meaning intended, acceptable is bringing someone in who is outside of our silo, appealing to the political stake holder(s). They will give a presentation, possibly in an under-prepared manor, and the vision and goals of the committee are not met. But, we worked with someone outside of our silo and therefore we have accomplished what has been asked of us.


I am thankful that we have a group who pushes beyond what has been done (and by pushing beyond I mean take what was and continue to work with and build upon it. Not recreating the wheel nor disregarding what was). I appreciate that we have a group which is willing to fight for the next level.

I will stand up.

If we have been asked to work with others outside of our silo, then why not do so? I intend this as a loaded question.

If we have a desire to work with others, for whatever reason, even simply because its something that literature says we 'should' do. Great! I am all for it! But why half-ass it? Why should we give or do any less than all we have and all we can? Anything outside of everything is something I do not understand-- even through the instances when I myself have not given my all. I will say it again, anything outside of everything is something I do not understand.

If we would like to work with others, then let us work with others! Let there be no limitation! But, and this is a rather large but, we must first prepare ourselves for doing so.

How can we study diversity if we do not know what diversity is? How can we come to see, understand (as much as we can from the outside) and experience the diversity of others if we do not first know and come to terms with our own individual diversity? How can we, collectively, approach others openhearted and openmindedly if we are unable to do so first as a collective? How are we to create a relationship with those outside of our silo if we are not first willing to create relationships within our silo? How are we to work with others outside of our silo if we are not first able and DESIRE to work within our silo?


These are the elements which we became aware of as a group. These are the elements we wanted to talk about and move away from. But politics stifles us.

How can we overcome?
We will overcome. We will meet the desires of the political stake holder(s) but I hope and pray and will stand up for a way to meet their desires with intentionality, purpose, and in a way which meets the vision and goals the committee has set out to accomplish. I will stand up for diversity with all that I have. I will stand up for our team becoming stronger. And the first way I will stand up is by sitting and listening. Working to understand. Contemplating. Sharing thoughts and ideas. Standing up any and every time needed to share why I feel so deeply. Where there is a dream, there is a way.

I will stand up.