November 4, 2022
NOVEMBER IS INDIGENOUS HERITAGE MONTH - Stories posted daily on @pugetsounddiversity
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A NOTE FROM CHAPLAIN DAVE WRIGHT
A Little Bit about TAIC – the Transgender Advocacy and Inclusion Committee!
TAIC is a committee charged by the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity to coordinate advocacy for, and training related to, improving inclusion and affirmation of transgender and nonbinary members of the campus community. The committee emerged from a working group formed of interested students, faculty, and staff, and is currently chaired by Elizabeth Wormsbecker (CES) and Dave Wright (University Chaplaincy).
TAIC meets twice each month to continue work on ongoing projects, discuss any emerging issues/needs/possibilities, and prepare training materials for students, faculty, and staff. We also almost universally talk about food because, well, food!
After offering multiple workshops for student leaders at the start of the school year, we’ve begun our regular workshops for faculty and staff, and will continue offering those 2-3 times each semester. We are also working on improving signage (and especially way-finding) for all-gender restrooms around campus, and partnering with other areas to strengthen the ability for students, faculty, and staff to have their names and pronouns fully respected and supported in all areas of campus life.
Our next public activity will be a lunchtime vigil honoring the Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR). TDOR is on Sunday, 11/20, but we invite the campus community to join us on Friday 11/18 at 1:30 pm in the Murray Boardroom (Wheelock Student Center) for a time of quiet, secular/spiritual remembrance honoring those transgender and nonbinary dear ones who have been killed out of hate for their gender identities. Much of the time will be a silent, reflective space with some individual activities, but from about 12:20-12:40 we will have a short program to name our grief and love for those who have been taken from us. All are welcome to gather respectfully and participate as fully as is right for your heart.
TAIC trainings being offered during Trans Awareness Week include:
Supporting Trans and Non-Binary Students offered for Staff on November 18th from 11:00 - 12:00 in the McCormick Room (Library 303). RSVP here.
Trans and Non-Binary student Experiences in the Classroom offered for Faculty on November 15th from 12:30 - 1:30 in the McCormick Room (Library 303). RSVP here.
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––– Upcoming Events –––
November 9 La Raza Cosmetica: Beauty, Identity, and Settler Colonialism in Postrevolutionary Mexico - a book talk with Dr. Natasha Varner. Wyatt 109 from 5:00 - 7:30 pm.
November 9 National First Generation College Student Celebration 12:00 - 1:30 pm in Trimble Forum.
November 10 Christian-ish - A conversational space for those that have separated or are separating from the church but still feel a sense of spirituality. Murray Boardroom from 6:00 - 7:00 pm.
November 17 SoAn Culture & Society Discussion Series: "Am I in the right place?" Power, Positionality, and Fieldwork Dilemmas. Murray Boardroom 4:00 pm.
November 17 Painting on the left: Diego Rivera as Artisan and Partisan. 50th John D. Regester Lecture with John Lear. Tahoma Room 7:30 pm.
November 22 34th Annual Interfaith Celebration of Gratitude from 7:00 - 8:30 pm at Mason United Methodist Church.
Now through December 16th The Collins Library is pleased to showcase a unique artists’ book created by artist Paige Pettibon. Paige’s book Urban Cedar is included in the exhibition Changing the Conversation currently on display at the Library. Learn more about Paige and her art by visiting her web site.
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Highlighting Equity, Diversity & Inclusion on CampusPhysical and Occupational Therapy Departments
When Weyerhaeuser was built in 2011, funds were set aside to purchase artwork for the new space. A committee was formed of those working and learning in Weyerhaeuser to select the artwork. The two overarching criteria the committee had were that the artists should be local, and dealing with some sort of disability. As Professor Roger Allen (PT) said, “it was important that the art represent the people that we serve”. The Committee reached out to Vibrant Palette in Seattle, a studio space that empowers artists with disabilities and raises the visibility of their work. After visiting the studio, Committee members found several intriguing pieces. Initially there were some delays in getting their selections approved. Ultimately though, 14 pieces were purchased. Graduate student Erin O'neill took charge of having them framed and hung in their respective locations with accompanying artist bios. Now OT and PT clients are greeted with warmth and color instead of sterile blank walls.
top photo artist - Joey Joseph
bottom left - Nathan Runge; bottom center - Joey Joseph; bottom right - Sherri Hirai
photo credit Meghan Reese
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Resisting and Preventing Antisemitism at Puget SoundBy Dave WrightOver the last several years, Puget Sound has seen a spike in antisemitic incidents on campus – mostly in the form of white nationalist stickers placed around campus by unknown persons, but there have also been several more egregious attacks using swastikas painted or drawn on surfaces inside and outside campus buildings. While direct antisemitic statements by members of the campus community are more easily dealt with, these sorts of anonymous, hate-based acts of vandalism are not only deeply harmful but are also difficult to proactively mitigate. During the 2021-2022 academic year, Vice President for Institutional Equity and Diversity Dr. Lorna Hernandez Jarvis and University Chaplain Dave Wright began connecting with staff from the Academic Engagement Network, a national organization whose work focuses on addressing antisemitism in higher education. After attending one of their workshops, and consulting with campus and community leaders in our Jewish communities, we invited Naomi Greenspan, the director of AEN’s Improving the Campus Climate initiative, to come to campus to present a two-hour workshop for Student Affairs staff. Ultimately over 50 colleagues from several divisions participated in the workshop, which included content about the complex realities of contemporary Judaism, the current surge in antisemitism writ large, and the particular ways that antisemitism can manifest on college campuses. The workshop was very well received, and as we move into 2022-2023 we are continuing to be in dialogue with AEN about future collaborations. Later this month, Student Affairs staff will participate in a workshop on student activities based out of an AEN/UC-Berkley collaboration, and we are exploring more robust partnerships that would better equip the whole campus to be informed about antisemitism and ready to respond quickly and appropriately when it appears in our midst.
In our situation – plagued by very harmful but mostly anonymous expressions of antisemitic bias and hate – the best things we can do as a campus is be better informed both about the complexities of Jewish culture and identity AND the ways antisemitism shows up in our context. If you would like to learn more about our work with AEN, or other resources to provide education related to combatting antisemitism, please reach out to Dave Wright, dwright@pugetsound.edu.
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Suggested Reading for Indigenous Heritage Month
Our thanks to Nick Triggs at Collins Memorial Library for these recommendations!
As We Have Always Done: Indigenous Freedom Through Radical Resistance by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson. Winner of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association's Best Subsequent Book 2017, The American Indian Quarterly states,"Simpson’s book beautifully centers Nishnaabeg thought while explicating the importance of Indigenous resistance to the violent settler state of Canada."
Dakwäkã Warriors by Cole Pauls. A bilingual comic about two earth protectors saving the world from evil pioneers and cyborg sasquatches. An accessible allegory of colonialism and resistance that also teaches readers the Southern Tutchone language.
Carry: A Memoir of Survival on Stolen Land by Toni Jensen. A powerful, poetic memoir about what it means to exist as an Indigenous woman in America, told in snapshots of the author’s encounters with gun violence.
Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse. Inspired by the civilizations of the Pre-Columbian Americas, a tale of celestial prophecies, political intrigue, and forbidden magic that explores the decadence of power amidst the weight of history and the struggle of individuals swimming against the confines of society and their broken pasts.
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