The Department of Student Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and International Programs (DEII) is committed to Tarleton students to celebrate diversity, promote inclusion, and pursue equity.

The DEII has a bunch of plans for students at Tarleton to get involved. One of the things that they plan to relaunch is MENtal Freedom with Malik Miles, a student development specialist. 

Malik Miles is originally from Dallas, Texas, which is north of Stephenville. He came to Tarleton as a freshman in 2017 and graduated with his Bachelor of Communications in May 2022. He is working towards his Master’s degree and is in the only historically Black fraternity on campus, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. where he served as president his senior year at Tarleton. He was also awarded as Greek Persons of the Year in 2022 of the Leadership and Service Awards. 

In his role at the DEII, he is over the male initiative, interfaith initiatives, training and consultations, and programs and events. One thing he has planned for this semester is relaunching MENtal Freedom. It is a leadership and mentoring program for men of color. He is planning to relaunch this program because he and other men of color would not have been successful if it was not for this program. 

“I want this program to once again be available for men of color who are currently enrolled at Tarleton,” Miles Malik stated. “I plan on making a difference in my role by developing student leaders and organizations to advocate for themselves and promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion amongst each other.”

MENtal Freedom was originally introduced in the year of 2012 and developed by Reggie Hall. He was previously a Tarleton student and came last semester to give a lecture about his start of the program. 

MENtal Freedom is a mentoring program designed to provide leadership, networking, dialogue, instruction, and real-world situations. This program establishes and encourages inclusiveness, community, and legacy. The outreach for MENtal Freedom is focused on traditionally under-represented men of color. It has helped create a legacy of success, graduation, and retention for men of color.