Student Organization Showcase: SIDE (Students for Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity)

Iman Evans, D.D.S. ‘25, is the current president of SIDE. A native of Charlotte, N.C., Evans earned her B.A. in Spanish from the College of Charleston before making the move to Westwood. As Black History Month begins, Evans shares her organizational goals, and how she’d like to see dentistry make even greater strides toward becoming a more equitable, diverse, and inclusive field of medicine.

School of Dentistry: What is the history of SIDE at the UCLA School of Dentistry? When did it start, and what are some of its guiding principles and advocacy platforms?
Iman Evans: SIDE started as a response to the increased police killings of black women and men in 2020. Most of those who were integral in creating the organization graduated last year or are graduating this year. The purpose was and is to promote diversity and inclusion, provide education on discrimination and bias in the healthcare field, and promote allyship.
 
SOD: Although you weren’t yet a SOD student, what do you know about those early SIDE advocacy efforts in the wake of the George Floyd protests?
IE: Before I took over as president, I was able to talk to one of the founding members, Dr. McKenna Renfro, to further understand the goals of SIDE. At that time, SIDE hosted Talking Circles and had an extensive virtual lecture series that ranged from topics such as neurodiverse patients to various determinants of health. Since these lectures were recorded and geared towards the greater community, including pre-dental students, we were able to reach a few hundred people.

SOD: As 2022-23 SIDE President, what are some of your goals and programs you have enacted, and/or plan to?
IE: My goals are to provide a safe space for students of different backgrounds to have access to. This club is for everyone. You don’t have to be black or Muslim like me to join. I want to create events and find lecturers to supplement what we are learning in dental school, and to improve our understanding of how to connect to others, who look different from us, on an interpersonal (human to human) level. For that reason, we have had events this year such as the Multicultural Friendsgiving, a lecture on providing care for deaf patients, and a lecture series planned on topics related to HIV and bias in healthcare. Another goal that I have for SIDE is to start a small mentorship program geared towards underrepresented populations in the dental field so that we are bridging the gap.

SOD: How do your faculty advisors, Dr. Ed Hewlett and Dr. Erin Lobo-Marwah, support SIDE?
IE: Dr. Lobo is our new advisor and was very integral in supporting us at the health fair event we participated in at the Chinatown Service Center in November. I am working to have her, and Dr.Hewlett to present their findings on diversity in the workplace (editor’s note: read study here). Beyond that, they let us decide what topics we want to approach and provide background support, helping us think through how to plan our programming and our next steps.

SOD: How do you feel the UCLA School of Dentistry is doing, in embodying SIDE’s principles to become a more inclusive, diverse, and equitable place?
IE: If you look at just the numbers, my class of 2025 is demographically very different than what you've [historically] seen in UCLA. About 10% of our class is African American, we have maybe 15 to 20% who are Latinx. Nationally only 3.8% of dentists are Black, and I think for Latinx it's around 4 or 5% … and that's drastically off from our actual representation in the population. (editor’s note: 18% of the U.S. population is Latinx and 12% is Black). However, the class after us [2026], demographically is much less diverse. Although I don’t have the data and know what the reasons are, it shows that there is work to be done in that capacity.
 
One initiative I’d like to see is incentivizing learning about diversity; for example, adding CE (editor’s note: continuing education) classes to students or having professors dedicate some of their class time to these lecturers and initiatives. Then students will have this extra certification that they can put on their CV that says they have taken the initiative to become actively engaged in diversity, inclusion, and equity initiatives. That way it takes the burden off of student groups like SIDE to always present these types of programs. I would also like UCLA to take on a stronger culture of inclusion and to be known for this just as much as we are for our research.

SOD: That’s a great idea. How about on the patient care side of things? How can dentistry improve in terms of listening to patients of color and working with their particular circumstances? 
IE: Being here in California, it’s really saturated with dentists. Compare that to areas in the south like North and South Carolina, where there are “dental deserts.” There are too few dentists to serve in rural and southern communities. This can mean long waits to see the dentist or having to travel long distances, which makes it more difficult for patients to visit a dentist. Then, when you add in language barriers and cultural barriers those are more challenges to reaching populations in need.

On the other end, there are ongoing stereotypes that patients of color are less educated or have a higher pain tolerance, both of which are harmful and continue to be taught in the medical field. Breaking down and removing these biases from our curriculum will help lessen the amount of discrimination that patients of color may receive. In general, a more diverse, understanding, and culturally component generation of dentists will help mitigate many of these core issues.

SOD: Thanks for this incredible conversation. Is there anything else you’d like to add?
IE: We are always looking for people who want to be panelists and who have perspectives to supplement what we're learning in dental school, whether it's biases in health care industries, social determinants of health or topics relating to racism. For more content or to connect with SIDE, visit our Instagram (@uclaside) or email us at uclaside@gmail.com.