Change, Allyship, and Taking Action Matters

Creating inclusive, equitable, and accessible environments in our universities and workplaces is not just a matter of good intentions. It requires meaningful, sustained action. For too long, marginalized students and staff have shouldered the burden of advocating for their own dignity, safety, and belonging in systems that were never designed with them in mind. While gathering these Untold Stories and doing interviews, many spoke of the exhaustion that comes from constantly having to correct others, explain their experiences, and fight to be seen. The message is clear: real allyship means not waiting for those most impacted to lead every conversation or fix every problem. It means using our voices, our power, and our positions to speak up – especially when it feels uncomfortable or inconvenient.

This chapter is a call to move beyond surface level, transactional approaches to equity, diversity, and inclusion. The kind that may check boxes or satisfy policy, but do little to dismantle the deeper structures that perpetuate exclusion. Performative gestures are not enough. What we need is transformational change: systemic, courageous shifts in how institutions operate, how culture is shaped, and how people are treated every day, and in every space. Change is not the sole responsibility of EDI committees or the few outspoken advocates in the room. It belongs to all of us.

The hope for a better future lies in our collective willingness to reflect, to act, and to show up with empathy, humility, and resolve. This work is about justice, liberation, and solidarity and it starts with asking ourselves: What role can I play in building a future where everyone belongs, where no one has to fight to be included, and where equity is woven into the very fabric of our institutions? As you engage with the stories in this project, let them challenge and inspire you not only to imagine change, but to become it.

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself” – Rumi

 #BETHECHANGE

“When people have that sense of wanting to listen without respect to situations like that and just to feel sorry for me and not change, that’s not acceptable because people have had these lived experiences and they don’t want your sympathy, they want change.” – by KPU Student