On Oct. 15, the Office of Multicultural Student Success hosted the “President’s Diversity Brunch,” an annual event featuring speeches from President Rev. Dennis Holtschneider, C.M. and community members and performances by student groups to celebrate DePaul’s commitment to diversity.

“Today, we want to make sure we are celebrating the differences that we all hold,” said Jade Perry, the event’s coordinator from the Office of Multicultural Student Success (OMSS). “The second purpose of this event is to illuminate how recognizing and celebrating allows us to create identity conscious retention initiatives within OMSS.”

Perry passed the torch over to Elizabeth Ortiz, vice president of the Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity, who introduced efforts made by Holtschneider to uphold diversity and make everyone feel welcomed.

This included the launch of the President’s Diversity Council in 2006, a body of over 30 members, which aims to bring DePaul’s goals of diversity into action to make the university a more inclusive space.

Ortiz mentioned the president’s signature series, also launched in 2006, providing funding for programs that promote diversity, multiculturalism and identity at DePaul.

“Just let me end by saying Father Holtschneider works tirelessly to make DePaul a better place for you, for me, for all of us,” Ortiz said.  “He’s a visionary leader who rolls up his sleeves and works alongside us, in our home that you will now call home.”

Warm applause and cheers filled the room as those attending welcomed Holtschneider to the stage.   He spoke about the various awards and accomplishments by DePaul alumni, describing their cultural diversity.

“All of those former students, Asian, African-American, Latino — all cultures, all corners of the earth — that’s DePaul.  And it has always been DePaul,” Holtschneider said.

He then turned his attention to the university’s first-year students seated throughout the audience.

“You come here at a really important inflection point in U.S. history, I believe,” he said.  “Throughout society, we’re watching the rise of real human ugliness in a way that if anybody ever thought the world was moving towards more enlightenment, it feels like it’s moving toward less enlightenment.”

Holtschneider said one of the reasons for increased racism in our society is that we’re watching our society become more diverse. He encouraged the crowd to identify any changes that needed to take place.

“I invite you, as new students at DePaul, to enter fully into really thinking about what’s happening in society around you and what difference you want to make along the way,” he said.

Before brunch was served, Quiana Stone, the associate director for Selection and Training in the Office of Residential Education, led the crowd in a prayer. She called on those attending to appreciate the diversity in one another, as well as be eager to change injustices in the world.

“Empower us to recognize and celebrate differences as your precious gift to us,” she said to a sea of closed eyes and bowed heads.  “We must ask ourselves: how can we be a revolution?  How can we fearlessly advocate for the radical change in a sea of silence?”

The featured student speakers shared stories of perseverance through personal hardships.

The first, Marissa De La Cerda, who is majoring in journalism and media and cinema studies, spoke of her background as someone who was always quick to speak up when she noticed injustices against those who could not speak for themselves.

“I’ve never been accurately represented anywhere, but that doesn’t discourage me from doing what I want and need to do,” De La Cerda said.

Victoria Williams, who is majoring in public relations and advertising and is a board member of the Black Student Union, spoke about the influences that pushed her through adversity.

“I’ve been molded into the person I am today because of my experience. But I am not a product of my environment,” she said.

When she was five years old, Williams lost her father to gun violence, leaving her mother to raise her and her sister on her own.

Her mother’s strength, and the values she instilled, pushed Williams to “excel academically, pursue leadership and to pursue higher education,” she said.

While guests ate brunch, DePaul Gospel Choir, Asian Cultural Exchange and Nu’ance dance team performed, showcasing the deep spirituality and cultural diversity present at DePaul.

The Asian Cultural Exchange performed an indigenous dance called the Maglalatik, which held themes of conflict and reconciliation between opposing groups.

“Everyone has different backgrounds, different religions, different viewpoints, and we all have conflicts with each other at some point,” said Francesca Aleonar, a graphic design major and cultural officer of the Asian Cultural Exchange.  “But in the end, diversity will bring about different opinions and mindsets and that can help strengthen everyone’s bonds and friendships.”

Jennifer Gardner, a dancer in Nu’ance dance team and an African and Black Diaspora major studies, said that the song selections and movements present in their performance were chosen carefully to symbolize the deep emotional and racial friction left after the events that took place at DePaul last quarter, such as the hanging of a noose and Mexican slurs written on the sidewalk. She also spoke of a vision of a new beginning.

“We wanted to just release those tensions, release the energy that we had left last quarter, which was really stressful,” Gardner said.