Onward, with care

For many, the outcome of the recent U.S. presidential election has been an unwelcome and deeply unpleasant surprise. For others, not so much. It is a truism to say that there is much anxiety and worry about how the fearmongering, transphobia, sexism, racism, and deep loathing of immigrants that characterized the winner’s campaign for the presidency will be transformed into public policy and sustained attacks on various marginalized groups. Our students are certainly concerned and will need a lot of support in navigating the coming months and years as they complete their education and make their way into the post-college world. I daresay, the waves of shock, horror, mourning, and rage that have flooded our bodies, newsfeeds, and conversations will eventually need to give way to an equally powerful insistence that all of us matter, and that none will be sacrificed for the sake of expediency or to cover over the ugly fault lines that many would prefer not to talk about right now. It’s an open secret that many Americans still want to keep company with white supremacy, and millions certainly voted in this way. Solidarities among marginalized communities will need to be rethought and rebuilt in the wake of this election. Even before 2016 but certainly since then, we have been reminded by scholars like Ashley Jardina that “identity politics” is not only the purview of marginalized groups, but a key part of how whites organize themselves and act politically in the U.S. Indeed, when voters in Arizona, Nevada, and Missouri chose the president-elect but also rejected the states’ prohibition against abortion, we learned how people make choices about who will bear the brunt of white anger. On the reproductive rights issue alone, there is clearly much to unpack. That signals to me that it’s worth talking about what’s new or different in this moment, and to inquire how these values can seep into and affect what a public university like ours is able to do and be. What do we as a university want to contribute to that conversation? We would do well to pivot to the tools that we already have: language; the research, experts, creative networks, and collaborative relationships around us; the documented histories of organizing communities under difficult political conditions; the visual and performing arts; and so much more.

Whether we are in the classroom or in various parts of administration, we need to ask ourselves: How do we plan to help our students understand and respond to the current political situation in ways that are consistent with our university’s mission and values? How do we plan to address the ways that groups and issues have been misrepresented and maligned e.g., transgender folks, Arab Americans, Haitian immigrants, Black women? What do we plan to tell our immigrant students - whether documented or undocumented - about how they need to protect themselves? More importantly, how will the institution rally to support, defend and protect our marginalized students from the harm that is sure to come? How will we show up in this moment? These are open questions that I hope we will sincerely try to answer through thoughtful engagement. At the same time that we need to continue to educate the campus community about the foundational and intersecting nature of structural oppressions in US culture and politics, we also need to prepare [the students] to champion the notion that there is room for all of us in this society.

WLRC will continue to hold space for these critical conversations in a variety of ways. On Wednesday, November 13 at 4 PM, we will host an in-person conversation organized by the interdisciplinary academic programs - Global Asian Studies, Black Studies, Gender & Women’s Studies, and Latin American and Latino Studies - to help students (and the campus community) process the outcomes of the election. All are welcome to show up, to listen, to learn, to contribute.

As the semester winds down, be reminded that the Centers for Cultural Understanding and Social Change (CCUSC) remain committed to being spaces of support and care as we work collectively towards a more just campus and society. Feel free to drop by any of our spaces - for a cup of tea, to talk, to wonder, to build a new connection. We need each other; we are all in this together.

Take good care of yourselves and each other.

Natalie Bennett

Share your thoughts in our weekly poll!

It's been a week since the U.S. election. We'd like to check in now that we've all had some time to reflect. 

How are you feeling about the results, whether it's the presidential race or other races and ballot measures in your town, the state, and the country?

Check back next week for your responses and a new question! Also be sure to join our campus partners for an election processing space on Wednesday at WLRC.

Last week, we asked, "What does being an ally to survivors of domestic violence mean to you?" Here are some of your responses:

Thank you for being an ally and for sharing how you support survivors.

[ID: "Question of the Week" in yellow block letters inside a yellow-orange frame on a purple-blue gradient background.]

Wednesday, November 13 | 4-5pm
WLRC, 1700 SSB, 1200 W. Harrison St.
Audience: Students, Staff, and Faculty

Are you struggling to make sense of the recent election and what it means? Join faculty and students from some of UIC's interdisciplinary programs for a community conversation about the 2024 Presidential election.

Hosted by UIC Black Studies, Gender and Women's Studies, Global Asian Studies, and Latin American and Latino Studies.

[ID: Blue and yellow circles with the same text above. Logos for BLST, GWS, LALS, and GWS are at the bottom.]

Thursday, November 14 | 1-2pm
WLRC, 1700 SSB, 1200 W. Harrison St.
Audience: Graduate Teaching Assistants

Join us for a workshop on understanding gender-based violence, harassment, and power dynamics in the academic workplace. This event is designed for international teaching assistants to learn about these critical issues and ask questions!

[ID: A stack of books washed in pink. At the top, large white text reads, "From Silence to Support: Understanding Your Rights as an International Teaching Assistant." Below that, on a green background, is light yellow text describing the program.]

Friday, November 15 | 10:30am - 3:30pm
WLRC, 1700 SSB, 1200 W. Harrison St.
Audience: Graduate/Professional Students, Faculty, Staff

Feeling like you don't ever have time to put words on a page? Looking for a writing community that can keep you moving?

Whether you are writing a thesis, article, chapter, or book, you could use some support. Join Write@WLRC, a 6-week drop-in space dedicated to supporting your writing goals!

[ID: Three people sitting at a table, writing, and chatting. Above them is "Write@WLRC" in large white text.]

Tuesday, November 19 | 1-3pm
Black Cultural Center, 207 Addams
Audience: Everyone (open to the public)

Join us for a screening of Tangerine! Come for snacks and conversation, and stay for the queer-women-centered community space. All are welcome!

[ID: Black silhouettes of the backs of two women, with palm trees, buildings, a billboard, and telephone poles and wires in the background. To their left and below them is text: Sapphic Stories: Screening of Tangerine.]

Friday, November 22 | 10am - 3:30pm
Institute for the Humanities, 153 BSB, 1007 W. Harrison St.
Audience: Graduate and Professional Students

This pencil is too dull, this one is too sharp, this one is...Just Write!

Join other dissertators and thesis writers for a day of communal, in-person writing, plus an opportunity to meet one-on-one with a writing coach.

Lunch, snacks, and coffee will be provided.
Space is limited to 25 participants, so apply today!

[ID: At the top is a hand drawing a straight line with a yellow pencil. At the bottom are a pair of hands typing on a laptop, with a stack of books behind it. Around them is black text describing the Just Write! workshop.]

Apply by Monday, November 25
Audience: Undergraduate Students

Apply for the Spring 2025 Diversity Community Engagement Program (DCEP) Internship!

- Work with UIC's Office of Diversity or cultural centers
- All UIC undergraduate students are eligible
- FWS and DACA students are encouraged to apply
- 10 hours/week
- Receive compensation and/or course credit

Select WLRC on the application if you're interested in working with us to develop programs to support pregnant and parenting students and/or raise awareness of sexual assault and gender-based violence prevention!

[ID: White text on top of a collage of photos of past WLRC events that has been washed in purple-blue reads: "WE'RE HIRING! Spring 2025 DCEP Internship with the UIC CCUSC & Office of Diversity. Apply by November 25!"]

Is your student organization

- Looking for extra support and resources?
- Hoping to collaborate with like-minded organizations?
- Aligned with the mission of the Women’s Leadership and Resource Center?

Become a WLRC Affiliated Student Organization! By partnering with us, WLRC can support your organization by providing guidance to your e-board, helping you with planning, providing opportunities for learning and collaboration, providing meeting space, and promoting your activities. Sign up today to receive an invitation to a student org gathering in early spring semester!

[ID: Text at the top reads, "Sign up to be a WLRC Affiliated Student Organization." Below that are two people high-fiving with a light bulb above them and text describing ways WLRC can support student organizations.]

We ask that all visitors wear a mask. Our staff is fully masked at all times. Masks continue to help prevent the spread of airborne respiratory illnesses and allow us to be in solidarity with those who are immunocompromised. Thank you for keeping our community safe! 

Visit the page linked above for additional accessibility info.

[ID: At the top is a light blue face mask. White text on a dark blue and red background reads, "Masks Strongly Recommended & Appreciated. If you do not have one, we can provide one. Masks continue to help prevent the spread of airborne respiratory illnesses and allow us to be in solidarity with those are immunocompromised. Thank you for helping us keep everyone safe."]

Survivors, we are here for you! Please reach out to the Campus Advocacy Network any time you need support, information, resources, answers, and/or advocacy related to safety, healing, or gender-based violence (sexual assault, domestic/dating violence, stalking, harassment, family abuse). We can connect in person at WLRC or via Zoom, phone, text message, or email. Our services are free, confidential, and open to all members of the UIC community.

We can help you build a safety plan, connect with resources (like mental health support or legal assistance), process your experiences, and stay informed about your rights and options. We can assist you as you navigate processes like requesting academic accommodations, communicating with Financial Aid and the Registrar's Office, filing a report with the Office of Access and Equity, and/or petitioning for an Order of Protection, depending on your needs. We are here not only for survivors and those facing gender-based violence, but also for those in roles where there may be a need to support survivors on campus, such as instructors, mentors, advisors, student leaders, friends, or colleagues.

To connect with an advocate:
- Call: (312) 413-8206
- Text: (312) 488-9784
- Email: can-appointment@uic.edu
- Submit an Ask an Advocate form

[ID: Four members of Mujeres en Medicina, smiling, hold a section of clothesline from WLRC's Clothesline Project, where t-shirts tell the stories of surviving violence or offer messages of support, such as "Women owe you nothing," "You are loved," and "I am not what happened to me. I am what I choose to become!"]

Everyone at UIC has a role to play in preventing violence and supporting survivors in our community. 

If you are an ally supporting a survivor in your life (whether that is a friend, family member, student, or employee), contact us to discuss questions around advocating for survivors, campus and community resources, mandated reporting, and more.

If you are a student leader, instructor, or supervisor, please consider inviting CAN to speak to your class through our Don’t Cancel Your Class! program, or request a training for your department, college, student organization, or other campus unit. 

[ID: A coffee cup, paper, paper clips, buttons, and pencils scattered around text about the Don't Cancel Your Class program, all on a teal background.]

If you are teaching, please share information about CAN during class and in your syllabus:

"If you have experienced sexual assault, domestic/dating violence, stalking, or harassment, there is help available. The Campus Advocacy Network provides free and confidential services to UIC students, faculty, and staff who have experienced or are experiencing interpersonal violence. Pregnant and parenting students are also welcome to contact CAN for resources, information, and support.

If you would like to speak with an advocate, please email CAN at can-appointment@uic.edu, call (312) 413-8206 and leave a voicemail message, text (312) 488-9784, or fill out CAN's Ask An Advocate form online at can.uic.edu/ask. To learn more, visit CAN's website at can.uic.edu."

[ID: The text of the CAN Syllabus Statement in dark blue on a white background, with a teal green border.]

UIC's Centers for Cultural Understanding and Social Change all have amazing opportunities for you! Click below for this week's events, services, and resources (all times listed are Central Time):

Disability Cultural Center: Crip Coffee Break: Game Time, Bingo for a Dreaded Task with Margaret
Wednesday, November 13 | 3-4pm, BSB 235 & Zoom
Come as you are! We’ll put a pot of coffee on and we have snacks as well as tea/hot chocolate. Different meetings have different ways for us to hang out together– but we’ll let the conversation be guided by what’s going on in our lives or what’s on our minds.

Asian American Resource and Cultural Center: Teach-In Asian Americans and Palestine
Wednesday, November 13 | 5:30-6:30pm, 723 Maxwell
Join this student-led program by the GLAS Student Advisory Board (GSAB) and AARCC Students Ambassadors (ASA) for a teach-in on why Asian Americans can be in solidarity with Palestine.

Disability Cultural Center: Practitioners of Being and Becoming: Exploring Interconnection Through Breath, Body, Object, and Collaboration
Friday, November 15 | 3-5pm, 1640 W. Roosevelt Road
During this free, two hour workshop facilitated by 3Arts/Bodies of Work Resident Artist, Rachel Singer, we will collaborate in small groups to bring a tabletop puppet to life and explore our senses as we work with objects. 

Disability Cultural Center: Gallery 400 Learning Together Virtual Tour
Tuesday, November 19 | 12-1pm, Virtual
Join Gallery 400 in partnership with the UIC Disability Cultural Center (DCC) for a virtual tour of Learning Together: Art Education and Community. Led by DCC Director Margaret Fink and artist and educator Sandie Yi, this virtual tour explores the histories, pedagogies, and importance of art education in Chicago.

Latino Cultural Center: Climates of Inequality 2024: Dr. Michael Mendez (UC Irvine)
Tuesday, November 19 | 5-6pm, Zoom
Dr. Michael Mendez is an assistant professor of environmental policy and planning at the University of California, Irvine. In this lecture, Dr. Michael Méndez explores why it is crucial to understand how these events amplify existing inequalities, and how to lessen the resulting harms, in particular for the most stigmatized populations, such as undocumented Latino/a and Indigenous migrants.

Disability Cultural Center: State of Student Mental Health at UIC: Storytelling for Disability Justice Report Release & Open Mic
Wednesday, November 20 | 3:30-5pm, Hybrid
Join us as we share the results of the research project, Mental Health Storytelling for Disability Justice to explore what these statistics might mean and how we can think about better supporting mental health on the UIC campus.

Arab American Cultural Center: Yalla Let’s Chat! Stories and Insights from Arab American Women Engineers
Wednesday, November 20 | 4-5:30pm, 101 Taft Hall
Join the Equity and Inclusion in Engineering Program at UIC in an engaging conversation with Arab American women engineers and UIC alumnae.

Arab American Cultural Center: Teach-In: The War on Lebanon and Palestine
Thursday, November 21 | 12:30-2pm, 2233 ETSMW (Education, Theater, Music, and Social Work Building)
Join us for a teach-in on the historical context of the current war on Lebanon and the long-standing links between freedom struggles in Lebanon, Palestine, and the Arab region more broadly.

Latino Cultural Center: Dialogues and Mural Tours
By appointment | Lecture Center B2
LCC Mural Tours intertwine artistic interpretation with historic tales of our campus community and link these to contemporary life. Participants will discuss the disproportionate impact of environmental racism and systemic inequities on BIPOC communities.

Founded as a direct result of campus activism, the UIC Centers for Cultural Understanding and Social Change (CCUSC) work collectively to produce knowledge and shift university culture, validating the multidimensional lived experiences of historically and currently excluded communities. Informed by social justice frameworks, the Centers support students, faculty, and staff as they build a strong identity and sense of belonging, becoming change agents for a more just campus and society.

The Centers connect our communities and design intercultural and engaged-learning opportunities, student mentorship programs, cultural programming, advocacy, collaborative research, and community partnerships. Through these efforts, the Centers expand the educational and transformational mission of UIC.

[ID: A statement about who the UIC Centers for Cultural Understanding and Social Change are, on a purple background.]

Student Affairs: 2025-2026 Scholarships: Apply by January 28, 2025
Applications are now available for over 30 competitive scholarships for students across colleges and academic disciplines. Log in to the UIC SnAP portal and submit a General Application in the portal before addressing criteria specific to each scholarship.

Career Services: Upcoming Events
Click above for career prep workshops, career fairs, and more!

Daley Library: Upcoming Events
Click above for fun and engaging events for UIC students!

Odehmenan Health Equity Center: Compassion in Action: Delivering Medical Care in Navajo Nation
Wednesday, November 13 | 8:30am-3pm, Hybrid
This all-day program will feature healthcare practitioners and community health advocates from Gallup, New Mexico who work exclusively with Native populations and will discuss various topics including, but not limited to, COVID-19, gender affirming care and substance use disorders.

Student Leadership and Civic Engagement: Post Election Recap
Wednesday, November 13 | 12-1:30pm, SCE Ft. Dearborn Room
Come recap the election results with professors from the Departments of Political Science and History

Native American Support Program: Cherokee Basket Workshop
Friday, November 15, 2-4pm, 1600 SSB
Come with the Native American Support Program (NASP) to learn the techniques and take home your own unique basket. Supplies provided. For all skill levels.

Great Cities Institute: Crossing Latinidades: Climate and Environmental Justice Webinar
Monday, November 18 | 12-1:30pm, Virtual
Join us to learn about our projects on how Latine communities experience, cope and contest the disparate impacts of pollution and extreme climate change events.

IRRPP: WTTW Firsthand Homeless: Understanding the Housing Crisis
Tuesday, November 19 | 6:30-8:30pm, Lecture Center B2
Join WTTW, All Chicago, and IRRPP for an in-depth exploration of the affordable housing crisis. 

Graduate College: Weekly Funding Opportunities Newsletter
Check out this weekly list of funding (mostly external) and employment opportunities available to graduate students...and sometimes to recent graduates (to get you thinking long-term). Check out this week's list and be sure to subscribe!

Little Sparks Program: Services and Opportunities for Student-Parents
The Little Sparks Program supports student-parents as they complete their education by providing childcare funding and wrap-around support. They offer things like child care; tuition assistance; diapers, wipes, and formula; student-parent network & events; and community resources.

Counseling Center: Mind-Body Programs
Weekly on various days and times | Virtual
The Mind-Body programs are focused on fostering emotional, mental, and physical well-being and strive to take the whole person into account by offering services that promote students’ overall health, resilience, and quality of life.

Asian American Student Academic Program: Community Support Groups
Various dates and times | 2720 SSB
There are three groups for the following focus areas: Body Doubling to increase accountability and productivity, Returning from Leaves of Absence, and Completing Your Incompletes.

Asian American Student Academic Program: Low Sensory Space at AASAP
Tuesdays | 9:30-11:30am, 2720 SSB
Looking for a quiet or low-sensory space to relax before heading to classes? Every Tuesday starting 9/24, AASAP will have low light levels, little sound/relaxing music, and calming tools available.

Institute for the Humanities: Queer/Trans Studies Working Group Co-working Sessions
Various dates and locations | 2-3pm
We invite you to work, mingle, and meet graduate students, faculty, and staff interested in queer/trans studies scholarship, art, activism, and writing, across broad disciplines and fields of study.

- Nov 12: Institute for the Humanities, BSB 153
- Nov 26: Institute for the Humanities, BSB 153

Resilience: Upcoming Events
Resilience is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the healing and empowerment of sexual assault survivors through non-judgmental crisis intervention counseling, individual and group trauma therapy, and medical and legal advocacy in the greater Chicago metropolitan area. Resilience provides public education and institutional advocacy in order to improve the treatment of sexual assault survivors and to effect positive change in policies and public attitudes toward sexual assault.

- Nov 13: Survivorship & Family Estrangement Support Group
- Nov 14: Survivor Crochet Group
- Nov 18: WOC Free Support Group
- Nov 19: Male Identified Survivors: Share Your Story Support Group
- Nov 19: Intro to Crochet Group
- Nov 20: Survivorship & Family Estrangement Support Group
- Nov 21: Survivor Crochet Group

KAN-WIN: 40-Hour Domestic Violence Training and Volunteer Opportunities
Nov 11 - Nov 21 | 9am-5pm, Virtual
KAN-WIN is excited to offer volunteer opportunities and a comprehensive 40-hour domestic violence training for volunteers, advocates, and those committed to ending gender-based violence.

Chicago Women’s Health Center: Four-Part Abortion Companion Training
Nov 11 - Nov 20 | Various Dates & Times, Virtual
The Chicago Women's Health Center invites you to join their very own four-part abortion companion training–while exploring various aspects of reproductive justice and health care access, workshops will build off of each other.

HEART Women and Girls: Heart at Home: Virtual Launch
Wednesday, November 13 | 6-7pm, Virtual
Join us for a virtual event exploring the HEART's brand-new RAHIM Campaign, Reproductive Justice framework, RJ timeline, and so much more!

The Radiant Fellowship: Medication Abortion and Reproductive Justice Practice Integration for Advanced Practice Providers
Friday, November 15 | 9am - 5pm, Chicago
Understand principles of Reproductive Justice and how they can be implemented in sexual and reproductive healthcare. Receive an overview of medication abortion care management. Learn how to integrate abortion care into primary care clinical settings.

Embrace Change Structured Networking for Women of Color
Tuesday, November 19 | 4:30-6pm, Virtual
This is a free, virtual networking session for women of color, hosted by Embrace Change, a career coaching and training firm for WOC.

CAASE: Surviving the Mic: Virtually Together
Thursday, November 21 | 3-5pm, Virtual
Surviving the Mic: Virtually Together is an online gathering space for survivors of sexual harm and those who support them, either personally or professionally or both.

UIC Women’s Leadership and Resource Center

1700 Student Services Building (MC 363)
1200 W. Harrison St., Chicago, IL 60607

(312) 413-1025 ∙ wlrc@uic.edu ∙ wlrc.uic.edu

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