Dear friends,

We're excited to welcome you (back) to school! There's a lot happening in the world that may be impacting us and our loved ones, that may not always get acknowledged on campus. During a time of fear and uncertainty for many of us, we are banding together to provide spaces of solidarity and community, to share love and care and build our resolve.

To that end, we have some great opportunities in store for you in the next couple weeks, including the spring kickoffs for our PERSIST(Σ) and HEALS groups and two vision boarding sessions.

In this newsletter, we're also sharing opportunities from around campus, as well as important Know Your Rights info.

Keep reading to get all the details, and if there is anything else WLRC and CAN can do to help you thrive this semester, please reach out to us at wlrc@uic.edu or (312) 413-1025.

[ID: A sign that says, "Welcome back to school!" on a blue background filled with school supplies.]

Share your thoughts in our weekly poll!

As the new semester begins, WLRC is excited to support UIC students, staff, and faculty through initiatives that foster growth, empowerment, and a sense of community to enrich their campus experience.

What are you looking forward to this semester?

Check back next week for your responses and a new question!

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

Monday, January 27 | 12-2pm
Student Center East, 750 S. Halsted
Audience: Undergraduate, Graduate, and Professional Students

Come learn about our upcoming events and how you can form part of our community for women and nonbinary students of color in engineering! Lunch will be provided.

[ID: On a blue background is a white oval surrounded by branches and leaves in varying shades of blue. Dark blue text inside the oval describes the PERSIST(Σ) Kickoff Celebration. Above the text is the PERSIST(Σ) logo, a stylized gear. ]

Tuesday, January 28 (in person) | 12-2pm | BCC
Thursday, January 30 (virtual) | 4-6pm | Zoom
Audience: Everyone (open to the public)

Join the Black Cultural Center and us for a drop-in space to create 2025 vision boards! We’ll focus on our goals, spiritual wellness, and kicking off the new semester.

[ID: "Vision 'n' Vibes" in bold orange text on a pink background with cute emojis and icons around it.]

Wednesday, January 29 | 12-1pm
WLRC, 1700 SSB
Audience: Undergraduate, Graduate, and Professional Students

Want to build connections, heal, and work towards justice with survivors?

Come to our drop-in gathering space for UIC students who have experienced gender-based violence and those who support them. Lunch provided!

This week's topic: Trusting Ourselves and Our Community: Survivors Podmapping & Building Connections
Where do you go for support when you need it? In this session, we will get to know each other, build podmaps, and reflect on what community can/should look like during times of violence and uncertainty.

Check out our full spring schedule! Sessions will be held every other Wednesday.

[ID: "HEALS: Healing for Engagement, Action, & Leadership by Survivors" in white text over a purple background, with flames rising from the bottom center. Below that is white text on a dark purple background describing the HEALS affinity space.]

Tuesday, February 18 | 3:30-5:30pm
605 Student Center East, 750 S. Halsted
Audience: Everyone (open to the public)

Join us for a performance, screening, and conversation with Damon Williams and Daniel Kisslinger about their short film, One Million Experiments, and the new liberatory possibilities already in the making all around us! Also join us at 3pm to connect with campus and community groups working toward safety without police.

[ID: A person walking in front of an outdoor mural, with their head turned toward the camera. On top of the image is black and white text describing the One Million Experiments event.]

Thursday, March 20, 2025
9am - 1pm
SSB Conference Rooms, 1200 W. Harrison St.
Audience: Everyone (open to the public)

From Surviving to Thriving: Cultivating Possibilities for Parenting Students in Illinois

WLRC and campus partners will host a symposium to explore the unique needs and challenges of parenting students by uplifting student stories, presenting current research, identifying best practices, and putting our ideas into action at UIC and campuses statewide.

More details coming this spring!

[ID: "Save the Date" inside rectangular blocks colored blue, yellow, and red. To their right is white text on a black background that includes the name and date of the Student-Parent Symposium. WLRC's logo is at the bottom.]

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, 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.]

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

Disability Cultural Center: Crip Spacetime: Access, Failure, and Accountability in Academic Life 
Wednesday, January 22 | 3:30-5pm, 153 BSB & Zoom
Join us for a conversation with Margaret Price about her new book!

Gender and Sexuality Center: Queer & Trans Drop-In Support Space
Tuesday, January 28 | 12-1pm, 183 BSB
Join a warm and inclusive space designed for Queer and Trans UIC students to share, connect, and receive support from UIC Counseling Center therapists.

Arab American Cultural Center: Spring Open House 2025 & Fragments of Ourselves Art Exhibition
Thursday, January 30 | 12:30-2pm, 101 Taft Hall
Join us for an exhibition that showcases artwork by students and staff on the intricacies of identity, how our identity shapes us, and its significance in our everyday experiences. 

Latino Cultural Center: Student Organization Open House
Wednesday, February 5 | 2-4pm, Lecture Center B2
Connect with other UIC students, learn about various student organizations’ missions, upcoming events, and student services.

In light of potential threats to our communities, both here at UIC and throughout the Chicago area, it's important to know what our rights are when interacting with immigration and other law enforcement officers.

UIC's administration has shared official protocols for such interactions on campus. In short:

UIC's Rigo Padilla Pérez Undocumented Student Resource Center provides a comprehensive set of resources you can use on campus and in the community, including printable cards in multiple languages. They can also provide Know Your Rights trainings by request.

For more detailed info, check out this presentation from Sanctuary for All UIC, a collective of students, faculty, and staff imagining a sanctuary for all at UIC.

We are here for you and will continue to share resources and information with our campus community.

[ID: A two-page flyer with Know Your Rights info from ICIRR, which is available on its website.]

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.

New Student and Family Programs: Weeks of Welcome
Now through January 31
Check out events across campus, get involved, and discover your school spirit!

Equity and Inclusion in Engineering Program: Spring Open House
Friday, January 24 | 2-4pm, 2065 SELE
Join us for hot cocoa and sweets, and learn how you can get involved in our events and programs!

Student Leadership and Civic Engagement: MLK Student Leadership Conference
Saturday, January 25 | 11am - 5pm, SCE Tower
Be inspired by the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. while learning, connecting, and growing with fellow campus leaders.

Equity and Inclusion in Engineering Programs: Transfer Student Welcome Social
Wednesday, January 29 | 4-6pm, Daley Library
Join us to connect with our team, explore our resources, and celebrate the unique contributions of our transfer student population at UIC Engineering. 

Commuter and Off-Campus Life: Upcoming Events
Click above for exciting events, resources, and opportunities designed for UIC commuter and off-campus students!

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!

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: Upcoming Events
Click above for popular workshops, peer-support groups, drop-in groups, and other events!

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.

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.

- Jan 22: Women-Identified Survivors Support Group
- Jan 22: Chat with Dr. Holly Richmond
- Jan 27: Winter Journaling and Meditation Support Group
- Jan 27: Men's Support Group
- Jan 27: Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Assault Support Group
- Jan 28: Survivor of Drug Facilitated Sexual Assault Support Group
- Jan 28: Survivor's Book Club: Free Support Group

CAASE: Let's Chat Over Lunch: Community Forum
Tuesday, January 22 | 1-2pm, Virtual
At each gathering, we’ll discuss current cultural events, media, and news headlines related to sexual harm and/or social injustice.

Chicago Women's Health Center: Pelvic Self-Exam Workshop
Monday, February 10 | 6-8pm, Virtual
This 2-hour workshop will discuss the pelvic floor and its function across bodies, as well as review the history of the Pelvic Self Exam movement. We’ll discuss best practices for pelvic exams and explore the medical violence and bias involved in pelvic health.

UIC Women’s Leadership and Resource Center
& Campus Advocacy Network

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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