NewsChannel 13 anchor Subrina Dhammi hosted an in-depth conversation with three Saints who are all involved with the Damietta Cross-Cultural Center. The three-part series describes the Center and the work student leaders, in collaboration with the College, are doing to promote social and racial justice on campus and in the community.
Some Siena College students are leaders in spreading messages of diversity and inclusivity.
Cynthia Isaac Douge, Alyssa Blanco and Kevin Goodman all work under the Damietta Cross Cultural Center at Siena.
Douge is a senior, Blanco is a junior and Goodman is a sophomore. They all help organize events that bring different backgrounds on campus together.
The center – which has been around since the 1990s – was named after Damietta, Egypt in 2010. That’s where it’s believed an instrumental conversation took place between Saint Francis and Sultan Malik about Christianity and Islam – and how different backgrounds can co-exist.
That’s exactly the work these students are doing.
“I don’t think the work is ever done. From my freshman year, Siena has improved drastically especially when planning Black History Month. I’ve got a lot of messages from other boards on campus asking, ‘What are you doing? Can we collaborate with you?’”
“I know how important it is to get other voices involved because we can’t sit around and do nothing. There needs to be people who also care.”
"If you feel like you want to be in that role (to make a difference), or even if you don’t feel like you’re brave enough to be that role, still try.”