A message from President Linda Schott

Dear campus community, We write to you today with an invitation from Irene Kai, an Ashland community leader, friend to SOU and faculty member at Rogue Community College. Irene has started a local initiative to increase positive relationships with the Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities of southern Oregon by collecting personal stories from members of those communities, raising awareness and encouraging self-reflection about human diversity in our region. This project is in conjunction with the Ashland Culture of Peace Commission newsletter and the Ashland Tidings. Irene, who is co-founder of ACPC, helped bring the World Peace Flame Monument to our region and the SOU campus in September 2018. We encourage you to participate in Irene’s project by submitting your story if you identify as Black, Indigenous or as a Person of Color. An example of a personal story and submission guidelines are available here. Please send in your submissions by April 16 to uphold the schedule to publish stories every two weeks in the Ashland Tidings and the ACPC newsletter; this deadline may be extended to allow writers adequate time to prepare their stories. Irene (irenekai@gmail.com) is happy to work with anyone who needs help writing their story. If you do not identify as a BIPOC individual, we hope you will participate by reading the stories that are shared. We encourage you to read Irene’s story, “Say Hello and I Will Smile” and Belinda Brown’s story, “We are All Indigenous to Mother Earth.” You can keep up with new stories on the Ashland Tidings webpage or by subscribing to the ACPC newsletter at the bottom of the ACPC website. We hope you will participate in this call to action. Sincerely, Linda Schott President, Southern Oregon University Neil Woolf Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs Jonathan Chavez Baez, Sabrina Prudhomme and Kylan de Vries Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Leadership Team Janelle Wilson Associate Dean of Students and Director of Engagement and Support Programs Alex Sylvester Assistant Director for Equity and Access Marvin Woodard Equity Coordinator for Racial Justice Jill Smedstad Equity Coordinator for Sustainability and Basic Needs Resources

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