Middle-income women of color. Temporarily able-bodied Muslim youth. Queer-identified white males.

Regardless of our backgrounds, we all have multiple intersecting identities that affect us daily. Some of these identities enable us to benefit directly from the oppression and marginalization of others, while other identities make us the targets of said discrimination. When we have better understandings of each other, we can start to deconstruct and reconstruct how we view people who identify differently from ourselves.

CU's annual Diversity and Inclusion Summit, which began Monday and continues today, is an opportunity for us as to engage in our intersecting identities and how that can help us reach our goal of building a more diverse campus community.

But when people mention such words as "diverse" or "diversity," what exactly do they mean?

Diversity is shaped in part by our race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, religious or spiritual beliefs, ability, sexual orientation, gender identity/expressions and then some.

When we look at the bigger picture, a diverse community includes people from different backgrounds, different perspectives, and different experiences. This is why in part a classist comment made by a professor in class or a sexist slur to a friend might be interpreted differently from person to person because of our diverse worldviews.

Our words and actions always have a certain intent that produces an impact. For example, I recently went out to a local bar with friends for Halloween and the person checking our IDs for admittance commented how I was "one of only five black people in Boulder" and how shocked he was to see me there.

That gentleman's intent may have been to comment on the lack of racial diversity in Boulder, but the impact -- coming from a white male to a person of color -- was that it only further reminded me of the marginalization and sense of "otherness" that I and many others feel living here.

This year's Diversity and Inclusion Summit should be a time for us to reflect on the impact of our words and actions while also being a time for us to strategize on how to move forward and build cross-coalitions.

UCSU Diversity Director Alexis Smith, a CU senior, says "we all have a role to play in strengthening our communities in an increasingly diverse society and country."

"Diversity: What's In It For Me" is this year's theme for the summit and will focus on breaking down terminology related to diversity and looking at our intersectional identities.

A complete list of today's activities and workshops can be viewed at colorado.edu/cu-diversity/events.

By actively participating in discussions surrounding diversity, we can unlock the unknown and build a more inclusive and accepting campus community.

Jerome Jackson is the Web master for CU's Student Outreach Retention Center for Equity.