By Tyler Nell ’21, staff writer

In a time of great division, inclusion is more important than ever.

On February 25, LVC held its eighth annual Symposium of Inclusive Excellence, with Tim Wise as its key speaker.

Instead of the traditional in-person gatherings, the Symposium was replaced with Zoom meetings, still hosting the variety of Symposium events such as the poverty simulator and discussion panels.

One part of the Symposium that students could take part in was the Human Library, where students could go into break-out rooms to speak with different people from different backgrounds, beliefs and cultures. This was a method to cultivate understanding and combat stereotypes.

One of the guests at the Human Library was Le Hinton, a poet from Lancaster county and the author of five poetry collections including, The Language of Moisture and Light. His work has been widely published and can be found in The Best American Poetry 2014, Little Patuxent Review, the Baltimore Review, and outside Clipper Magazine Stadium in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. During this event, Hinton explained to students his career in writing, how he gets inspired to write poetry and the best methods of writing poetry.

The reception of the symposium has been positive.

“The Symposium is one of the great ways LVC attempts to keep racial equality on the fore front of our minds,” Nicholas Simon, sophomore physical therapy major said. “It is our duty to stay engaged in this battle and the Symposium helps in this!”

Considering the up rise in racial tensions, the Symposium has made it its mission to help bridge the gap of misunderstandings and stereotypes. To many on campus, COVID-19 has not stopped this progress in bringing inclusion, unity and understanding.