As a NIU undergraduate, Ariel Owens had questions.
Hailing from Kenosha, Wis., the English major who is biracial was unsure of where – if anywhere – she most belonged on campus.
Ariel Owens
“Specifically, I’m white and Black, but no one thinks I’m white when they see me. They don’t know if I’m Latina, or if I’m Black, but they do know I’m not monoracial white,” says Owens, who graduated in 2016 and returned two years later as assistant director for Women and Gender Programs in the NIU Gender and Sexuality Resource Center.
“When I got to college, I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t really fit in anywhere. We don’t have any organizations for mixed people here,’ ” she adds. “I never really utilized the Center for Black Studies because I didn’t know if that was a space for me. I kind of had to pick one: ‘Am I ‘enough’ for this space? Am I ‘enough’ for this space?’ ”
Conversations with current Huskies have shown her that she’s not alone.
Members of the Women and Gender Advocacy Alliance, for example, “will casually mention, ‘Oh, yeah, I’m mixed, too,’ and they’ll say it in a way where I can tell they’ve not had the chance to explore,” says Owens, the organization’s adviser.
“They say it like, ‘Oh, by the way’ – like it’s not a big deal – and, to me, that says because they’re only being viewed as maybe one of their races, they don’t feel like it’s relevant or like that’s not cared about here at NIU,” she adds. “We have these really great race and ethnicity centers, but the mixed people are falling through the gap. There are mixed people all over campus within our centers, but they may not be talking about their identities.”
No longer.
Realization of the need for such intentional advocacy has produced a new title with expanded responsibilities at NIU: associate director for Women, Gender and Multiracial Support.
In alignment with the university’s strategic enrollment plan to deepen initiatives for students with multiple and intersecting identities, development of this role received collaborative support from NIU senior leadership and leaders within Academic Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ADEI).
Vernese Edghill-Walden, vice president for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer at NIU, says that ADEI is excited to offer more coordinated programming and resources for multiracial students.
“We value all of our students and want to provide opportunities for them to see themselves and for them to know that they are seen, heard and valued,” Edghill-Walden says. “Ariel has been a passionate advocate for multiracial students. Her professional knowledge and expertise, as well as her lived experience as a student leader at NIU, has prepared her for this role, and we are excited to offer intentional support and programs for our students to learn, grow and engage.”
“This new role comes not only at the right time, but it wouldn’t be possible without the right person: Ari Owens,” says Molly Holmes, director of the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center.
“Her experience and passion for multiracial students’ development began at NIU and has continued through her professional career,” Holmes adds. “Ari values opportunities to give students space to be heard and feel whole, particularly those who feel unsure about their place at NIU. She makes a point to connect with students, listen to their needs, and reflect those needs in programs and resources offered.”
Owens plans to begin by simply listening.
During the next year, she will gather and document anecdotal evidence by conducting focus groups of students and by talking directly with NIU colleagues.
“I’m just one person. I graduated in 2016. How are people who are biracial or multiracial feeling today on campus?” Owens says. “I also plan to have a lot of meetings. I want to get on everybody’s calendars and figure out what they currently doing to support multiracial students, if anything.”
Next, she says, is educating the campus on multiracial identity.
That work will include workshops, presentations, guest speakers and panel discussions along with personalized assistance for NIU faculty and staff to better understand the experiences of students who are multiracial and how they can provide appropriate support.
Ultimately, she says, that knowledge then should generate the creation of spaces that are more inclusive.
“I want to do as much as possible: The information is here. The resources are here,” Owens says. “I would just love for people to be curious and enthusiastic; to connect with me so that I can share that with them; and to being open to how they can be more inclusive in general.”
Such awareness can prevent cultural microaggressions and misunderstandings, she says, and enrich the diversity of campus with students who bring a special and different insight regarding people, identity and how those systems can work together.
For Owens, the former includes comments that she’s either “not white enough” or “not Black enough” – or, in white spaces, that “I don’t really see you as that kind of Black person.”
“What does that mean?” she asks now. “Being a young college student, without the language to say why that’s wrong and harmful, being told these things doesn’t feel good. I’m hoping that with more education on campus, people won’t say that – and, if students are hearing things like that, that they’ll have the language to challenge it and really feel empowered to be proud of their identity.”
That conviction is part of her DNA, as are its benefits.
“I spent a lot of time growing up around white people, so white culture is something that I understand very well. I know what it’s like to see privilege in action. And having the experience of seeing my family members have certain privileges, but then also having a whole other side of my family, and being immersed in Black culture, gives me a unique perspective,” she says.
“These dynamics that many people have to study about, or learn about, or hear about from a friend – being biracial, you just see these things unfold,” she adds. “And being biracial has given me the ability to really connect with all kinds of people because I know what it’s like to not fit in.”
Owens already has glimpsed the possibilities of what’s in store for NIU.
During her time at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where in 2018 she earned her master’s degree in Higher Education, she found an organization for students who are multiracial.
“I’ve seen how empowering it can be,” she says. “People would say things like, ‘This is the first time I’ve ever felt comfortable in a space,’ and that’s really powerful. Students can do amazing things when they feel like they belong. I’m so excited.”
