Dear Beloved Community,

Fall is officially here! The mornings are cooler, leaves are beginning to change, and we have entered my favorite time of year: boots season! As the season changes around us, there are changes within IEB as well.

As many of you know, I recently stepped into the role of Interim Dean of Students, and with that, questions about how our work will change followed. While my responsibilities have expanded, IEB’s work continues because all of you continue to make it happen.

That feels particularly important as we enter a block rich with religious and cultural observances, including Yom Kippur, Chuseok, the Mid-Autumn Festival, Sukkot, Navaratri, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and the final weeks of Latine/x Heritage Month. These observances are a small reflection of the many identities, traditions, and experiences that make up our beloved community and why this work has never been about one person or one leader.

Christian Abigail Gonzalez, Director of the Butler Center; Kate Holbrook, College Chaplain; Nancy Rios, Director of Belonging & Engagement; and Christopher Sewell, AVP for Institutional Equity & Belonging, remind me every day how fortunate we are to have such committed and caring leaders. I encourage you to seek them out, tap into their knowledge, and invite them into your work. I couldn’t do my work without theirs, or without yours. You make a difference on this campus in every choice you make and every critical question you ask.

Seasons change. Roles change. But our commitment to creating a more equitable and welcoming CC belongs to all of us. The work continues because we continue.

In solidarity and gratitude,
Rosalie

On Sept. 14, a federal court issued a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking implementation of the new DHS rule that would have ended Duration of Status (D/S) for F-1 students and J-1 exchange visitors and replaced it with fixed periods of admission. The rule had been scheduled to take effect Sept. 15. For now, existing D/S regulations remain in place and there are no changes to current F-1 and J-1 procedures. The injunction is temporary while the legal challenge continues, and IPP and ISSS will continue to monitor developments.  You can read more about these changes at NAFSA.org.

International People and Practices (IPP) has been discussing significant changes in Curricular Practical Training (CPT). Following guidance from legal counsel, CC has paused authorization of CPT for internships and practical training experiences that are not required components of a student’s major. At this time, Education is the only CC major with a required internship/practicum. This change may affect F-1 students considering internships, experiential learning, or courses that include work with an external organization. Faculty and staff should connect with International Student & Scholar Services (ISSS) early when developing or advising students about these opportunities so that we can determine whether an activity constitutes practical training and discuss any available alternatives.

Nahuatl Language Class with Dr. Jessica Sanchez Flores
Tuesday, Sept. 29, 5:30-6:30 p.m.
WES Room in the Worner Basement
Learn the Indigenous roots of Mexican Spanish through an introduction to Nahuatl and its lasting influence on the language spoken in Mexico today.
Attendees will learn about the Nahua language, culture, and knowledge preserved in an extraordinary collection of archival work.
No prior knowledge is required. All CC students, faculty, and staff are welcome. Dinner provided.

Talking Circle with an Intro to Beading
Tuesday, Sept. 29, 6:30-8 p.m.
Worner 211
Please join Elder Debbie for this block’s Talking Circle, a traditional Indigenous practice that brings people together to share perspectives, personal reflections, and experiences. An introduction to beading will also be included.

Sites, Memory, and Interpreting the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site with Professor Amy Kohout
Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2-3 p.m.
Worner Fireplace
Interested in learning more about IEB’s Sense of Place field engagement? Join us for a pre-trip learning opportunity where we will explore the history and memory of the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site and learn more about the significance of the site. Please read After the Opening by Ari Kelman in preparation for this community discussion.  

Indian Boarding School National Day of Remembrance
Wednesday, Sept. 30
Display in Worner Fireplace with NASU (Monday through Friday)
Please visit the display by Worner Fireplace, created in collaboration with NASU to learn more about the history of Indian boarding schools and honor boarding school survivors. Wear orange as a visible sign of support for remembrance, healing, and reconciliation..

Community ADEI Workshop: Leveraging Your Privilege for Good
Thursday, Oct.1, 12:30-1:30 p.m.
Worner Student Event Space (Basement)
This interactive workshop aims to support CC Community members to reflect on their privileges and how these privileges show up in our everyday lives. Can privilege be used for good change in our community?
Join the Butler Center’s Peer Education team as they facilitate this workshop for ANY students, faculty, and staff who wish to attend. Lunch provided!
To learn more about the Butler Center’s Block 2 programs and events schedule, please visit our LinkTree.

Bemis Sugar Skull Making
Oct. 2 and 9, 1-3 p.m.
818 Pelham Place
Join the Bemis School of Art for a couple hours of sugar skull making for our annual FAC Día de Muertos event. With a goal of 1,000 sugar skulls to be made, all help is welcome and appreciated!

Truth About 250-150
Friday, Oct. 2, 4-8 p.m.
FAC Sculpture Garden
An Indigenous-led mobile museum that brings truth-telling, youth-created art, and community healing directly to public spaces across Colorado.

Here and Now, Then and Always
Friday, Oct. 2, 5-8 p.m.
FAC Exhibition Opening/First Friday
This exhibition draws from the permanent collection to examine artistic practices across the region now called Colorado. Curated pairings of works explore both continuities and divergences in regional artmaking: HOpeow have artists engaged with place, identity, and community across generations? What tensions emerge between celebration and critique, between natural beauty and development, between different communities’ relationships to this landscape? From 19th-century landscape photography to contemporary boundary-pushing work, these pairings reveal how artists have consistently grappled with questions of belonging, power, and transformation, while newly commissioned and selected responses from Colorado artists bring fresh perspectives to these histories.

Sense of Place: Truth and Remembrance – The Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site
Saturday, Oct. 3, 7 a.m.-6 p.m.
Eads, Colorado
Open to students, staff, and faculty, this field engagement is intended to hold space for learning, reflection, and prayer. Transportation and meals will be provided. Participation in pre-trip learning opportunities is strongly encouraged.

Community Grief Walk for Students
Monday, Oct. 5, 4-5 p.m.
Meet in front of Shove Chapel
Part of the blockly grief support gatherings.

Spiritual and Life Journey with Professor Christine Siddoway
Tuesday, Oct. 6, 12:15 p.m.
Sacred Grounds
Join the Chaplain’s Office and Professor of Geology Christine Siddoway as she shares what has been meaningful in her spiritual and life journey. Lunch provided!

Contemplative Inquiry in Community for Faculty and Staff
Wednesday, Oct. 7, 3:45-4:45 p.m.
Sacred Grounds

CC’s Feminist Ancestors
Friday, Oct. 9, 1-3 p.m.
Interdisciplinary Studies (ID) House
Opening reception of the Department of Feminist & Gender Studies, “CC’s Feminist Ancestors,” an exhibit celebrating the work of three professors emeriti: Judith “Judy” Genova, Margaret “Margi” Duncombe, and Adrienne Lanier Seward. These faculty members worked for decades to establish not only the Women’s Studies Program but also to push CC to acknowledge and uplift issues of gender and sexuality for students, faculty, and the institution as a whole. We at FGS are proud to inherit their legacy and eager to honor and share their work with you!

Glass House Open House
Friday, Oct. 9, 3-5 p.m.
Lennox House, 1001 N. Nevada Ave.
Drop in for a casual open house celebrating 30 years of the “Glass House,” a multicultural living community. Drinks and refreshments will be provided. All are welcome to attend.

Commemorating 30 Years of the Glass House
Saturday, Oct. 10, 4-4:45 p.m.
Edith Kinney Gaylord Cornerstone Arts Center, Screening Room
Join CC alum to celebrate 30 years since The Glass House became a permanent multicultural residence at CC. Panelists include Audriana Alvarado ’18, Ryan Haygood ’97, former CC President Kathyrn Mohrman, and former Senior Vice President Mike Edmonds. All are welcome to attend.

Indigenous Peoples’ Day
Monday, Oct. 12, 4:30-7 p.m.
Shove Chapel
Celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day with fry bread tacos at Shove Chapel from 4:30-6:30 p.m. A smudging ceremony will follow outside Shove Chapel from 6:30-7 p.m., hosted by Robert Williams.

Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College
Dia de Muertos 2026 Volunteer Sign up
It's our 7th annual Día de Muertos celebration! Last year we had over 3,100 people attend our two-day event. Help from you—our amazing volunteers—is crucial to having the event run smoothly. We hope you can join us for this community event!

Antiracist Book Club

Thank you, Professor Amy Kohout, and everyone who joined us last week for an ABC Teach-In on the Sand Creek Massacre. Tommy Orange’s characters are survivors and descendants of survivors of the massacre at Sand Creek. This novel generously compels us to confront our nation’s history of trauma and violence while urging us to reflect on our responsibility to the future. 

Please consider joining IEB for Sense of Place: Truth and Remembrance, a field engagement at the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site on Saturday, Oct. 3. 

Drivers are needed. If you would like to volunteer to drive, please reach out to Nancy Ríos at nrios@coloradocollege.edu.

Thank you to all who have already picked up your copy of Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange. We have ordered more copies to keep up with demand. Copies are available at the CC Bookstore with CC ID. Limited digital and audio versions are also available through Tutt Library.

Join the MS Team channel for more exciting program details.

Institutional Equity & Belonging (IEB) offers up to $250 in co-sponsorship funding for campus events that promote equity and justice. Departments, offices, student groups, and athletic teams may apply by submitting the request form and required materials. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, with decisions issued within two weeks. Funded events must acknowledge IEB’s support and include the IEB logo on all promotional materials. For questions, contact IEB or review this form to apply.

The IEB grant program helps reduce financial barriers to professional development and programming that advance antiracism, diversity, equity, and inclusion (ADEI). Grants may support participation in, attendance at, or creation of opportunities that further the College’s mission and individual growth. Applications for fall 2026 funding are due Oct. 1; applications for spring 2027 funding are due March 1, 2027. Because review and decisions require at least two weeks, we strongly recommend applying at least one month before your activity. The process is simple. Complete this form describing your funding needs. 

Butler Center
Chaplains Office
Institutional Equity & Belonging
International Student and Scholar Services

14 E. Cache La Poudre St.
Colorado Springs, CO 80903