Students’ concerns and advocacy have driven change in the TCU community over the last decade, the Race and Reconciliation Initiative fourth-year research report revealed.

The fourth annual Reconciliation Day was celebrated April 10 in the Brown-Lupton University Union Auditorium.

This year’s research highlighted the years from 1998 to 2020 in which students’ demands for inclusivity shaped the community and campus with the increased enrollment among students of color and the shift in the core curriculum with the establishment of ethnic and area-studies programs.

The event opened with the performance of the TCU Mariachi Sangre Royal playing a variety of Mexican regional songs including polka with “La Adelita” and “Arboles de la Barranca” in a mariachi arrange as it was explained during the presentation.

An update with the progress from the recommendations made in 2021 was provided by Aisha Torrey-Sawyer, director of Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives. The announcement of the creation of a new space to tell the full history of TCU—past, present and future—received approval from the Board of Trustees in the annual spring board meeting. The Sesquicentennial Plaza project will be on the east side of campus with the goal to become a more inclusive space to learn and educate others, Torrey-Sawyer said.

A panel discussion led by history professor Todd Kerstetter introduced the historical research team composed by postdoctoral fellow Jenay Willis, graduate research assistant Kelly Phommachanh, graduate student Lucius Seger and undergraduate student intern Marcela Molina.

“One of the most memorable times in the research was just the power of the collective student voice,” Phommachanh said. “The reason why spaces like the Intercultural Center exist is because of our students.”

The Plume Award, given by professor Karen Steele, honored faculty members Carrie Liu Currier, Miguel Leatham, Ariel Feldman, Hanan Hammad and Claire Sanders for fostering a campus community that’s welcoming to all.

Professor Hammad thanked the RRI team and acknowledged the casualties of students and professors in the war in Gaza while receiving the award.

The event ended with performances of ballet folklorico with Claudia Tiffany Rodriguez and the TCU Word of Truth Gospel Choir.