By Josh Hughes
Next weekend, October 13 to 15, the Ethnic Student Center will be holding its annual conference on Whidbey Island at Camp Casey. While registration for the event has already closed, the conference has a rich history at Western dating back to 1991 when it first started, and the conference now represents one of the ESC’s biggest events of the year.
Back when the conference started, it provided a platform for students of color to help guide the direction of the ESC as it further developed at Western. While its goal originated as a means for students of color from diverse backgrounds to explore identity and culture, the conference has changed over the years to accommodate current students at Western.
The conference now hosts 150 students, a number that reaches max capacity every year. The event intends to create a tightly knit sense of community and inclusiveness through a variety of workshops, lectures and activities that students engage in over the weekend. Western alumni come to speak, students perform music and poetry and the group gets to know each other through small group activities.
This year’s event focuses on the acronym SUCCESS, which stands for Students Uniting Communities of Color Empowering Strength and Solidarity —words that, while eternally relevant, seem exceptionally fitting for the current political environment pervading the country.
Check back in two weeks for a recap of this year’s ESC Conference along with photographs of the weekend or follow us on Facebook!