Have you ever walked into a classroom and felt like all eyes were on you? Have you felt like too few people around campus look, act or feel like you do? Being a minority attending the University of Wisconsin can mean feeling excluded or targeted based on your race/ethnicity, religion, sexual identity or a combination of these.

Perceptions of campus climate and inclusion are strongly correlated with academic performance and retention. UW created diversity plans in 1988 and 2008, yet planning committees never asked the student body about the climate. With current discussion of a diversity plan for 2013, it is time we uncover the issues.

As an intern on the Associated Students of Madison Diversity Committee, I am working with student leaders and faculty to launch a campus climate survey to measure perceptions and inclusion of students of different identities. Participating in the campuswide climate survey will allow students to express their experiences in an anonymous forum. Results will help explain how students with different racial/ethnic, religious and sexual identities experience the UW campus.

Support from students is crucial to establish the long-ignored baseline of campus climate and guide policy decisions made by the Division of Diversity, Equity and Educational Achievement as Vice Provost and Chief Diversity Officer Damon Williams leads the creation of Diversity Plan 2013.

Watch for the Campus Climate Survey in your email later this week and contribute to a future of excellence and inclusion for all students at UW.

Jessica Behling ([email protected]) is a freshman and an intern for the Associated Students of Madison Diversity Committee.