John Carroll University Division of
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
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Volume 7, Issue 2: June 16, 2022
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R.I.S.E.* Up Newsletter
*Reinforcing Inclusion through Skill-building and Education
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From the desk of Megan Wilson-Reitz, Interim Manager for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Programs:
It is with true regret that I write today to tell you that this will be my final reflection for the R.I.S.E. Up Newsletter.
I have accepted an exciting new role elsewhere, and will be leaving my staff position at the university soon. I am grateful for this opportunity today to offer my farewell, and to take a moment to reflect on how different John Carroll University is today from the institution I first encountered fourteen years ago.
For those of us who work for social change, it can be easy to lose sight of our victories. They often feel too small, too late, or too conditional for us to celebrate them in the moment. We are so busy looking towards the work ahead of us that we can fail to notice what we have accomplished. When we pause to look back, however, we can begin to see the wide tapestry of progress slowly unspooling behind us as we forge ahead.
Fourteen years ago, when I arrived at JCU, this institution had no diversity plan, DEI division, or Chief Diversity Officer. Our equity offices were sparsely staffed, and siloed. Today, we have multiple professional units dedicated to equity and inclusion, working collaboratively within the same division, represented in university leadership by a Vice President who is an expert in the field of DEI. We have a formal Strategic Plan for Inclusive Excellence, reflecting extensive community input, with 15 specific objectives for continuous improvement.
Fourteen years ago, our CSDI office did not yet exist, and a tiny Office of Multicultural Affairs provided services to a fairly small subset of students. Today, our talented professionals in CSDI offer an enormous array of programming and services to all JCU students, while contributing their expertise to major initiatives in Enrollment, Athletics, Advancement, Academic Affairs, and many other areas across the university. Fourteen years ago, there was no website highlighting JCU’s commitments to diversity. Today, we manage multiple websites full of resources and information.
Fourteen years ago, there was no bias-reporting system, no training on topics of sexual or gender diversity, and no policy governing the use of names or pronouns. Our LGBTQIA+ employees were unprotected by university non-discrimination policies. Today, we have a collection of robust policies promoting equity and prohibiting discrimination and bias. Formal Title IX and Bias reporting systems allow incidents to be brought into the light and addressed. Our Safe Zone training offers a wide spectrum of educational opportunities in support of the LGBTQIA+ community. Our Name Usage policy now permits all students and employees the fundamental dignity of having the institution use the name and pronouns they request.
Fourteen years ago, there were few consistent opportunities for education or training on matters of diversity and inclusion, and the handful of people who stepped up to lead those efforts were largely unrecognized for their work. Today, our RISE series offers regular opportunities for training and dialogue; our R.I.S.E. Up Newsletter shares regular updates about those initiatives with hundreds of readers; and our DEI Champions program recognizes the many faculty and staff whose efforts at all levels and in all areas continue to move us forward.
When we look at the broad scope and significance of all these changes (and many more besides), we can truly begin to appreciate the dedication, courage, and diligence of the many students, faculty and staff who have given so much of themselves to make it happen. I am grateful to be a witness to this long labor of love and to honor the many people who have contributed to it. (Far too many to name them all here, though I fervently wish I could.) The scope of the progress I have seen in my time here tells me that the possibilities for the future are yet greater than I can imagine. I am filled with hope for that future.
A few months ago, the Arrupe and PJHR programs hosted a talk by Black Lives Matter leader Janaya Khan. Khan said many powerful things during their talk that evening, but it was one statement in particular that made me gasp out loud: “This isn’t about activism. It’s the work of being fully alive.”
It is this truth, I believe, that resides at the very heart of this work. Wherever we have been most effective at social change, we have succeeded NOT because we were the best organizers, the most compelling visionaries, the most persuasive writers, or the most courageous activists. Those things matter, of course, but ultimately they only succeed to the degree that they are rooted in our deep desire to live in a way that is fully, breathtakingly alive. The work of inclusion, equity, justice, and belonging is ultimately the work of building a community where all people can experience themselves and others in the most fully human way. In the end, it is only our love for our own humanity, and for the humanity of others, that will save us.
We have come so far in these last fourteen years, and this community is poised on the cusp of many more future successes. As I move on to new professional challenges, please be assured of my love and appreciation for each of you, and for this great work for human thriving that we are all in together. There are many victories ahead. Onward on, Blue Streaks!
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This Sunday, June 19th, the city of University Heights sponsors its inaugural Juneteenth Celebration in Walter Stinson Park from 1:30-8:30 pm, featuring food, music and arts performances, games, vendors and more. Come by and visit the JCU table at the event!
(Students, faculty, and staff: we need volunteers to help set up, take down, and staff the JCU table during this event. Click here to sign up for a shift with us!)
The federal Juneteenth holiday is observed on Monday, June 20 this year. The University will be closed, but all of our community members are encouraged to use this day as a "day on" rather than a "day off," taking advantage of this time to learn more about the history of Juneteenth and its resonance with our ongoing work for racial equity and justice today. Visit our website for a list of events, readings, videos, podcasts, and other resources for learning and reflection.
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Juneteenth Week Lunch and Learn
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As part of our University celebrations of Juneteenth, the DEI Division will host a Lunch and Learn event on campus on Tuesday, June 21 to learn more about the history of slavery, emancipation, and the 150+ year history of the celebration of Juneteenth as a holiday. We will enjoy a casual meal while we watch and discuss a virtual tour of selected exhibits at the Smithsonian Museum of African-American History and Culture, narrated by Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III.
Registration for this event is now closed. Please email diversity@jcu.edu to be added to the wait list.
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Juneteenth @ Tower Time
Wednesday, June 22, 2:00-2:45 pm, Dolan Center Terrace
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As part of our University celebrations of Juneteenth, a Tower Time "pop-up" celebration will be held on Wednesday, June 22 from 2:00-2:45 pm on the Dolan Science Center terrace facing Hamlin Quad (rain location: DSC Atrium).
In addition to the usual Tower Time beverage offerings, we will have red velvet cupcakes provided by Sweet Fix, a local Black-owned bakery. ( Read more here about why red velvet cake is a traditional food item for Juneteenth.) RSVP is appreciated, but not required.
Open to all students, faculty and staff. Faculty/staff participants can earn 10 DEI Champions points for participating.
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Juneteenth Week Breakfast Discussion of the Film 13th
Thursday, June 23, 9:00-11:00 am, O'Dea Room
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We take this opportunity to reflect, as part of our University celebrations of Juneteenth, on the ways that freedom is still denied to many. Please join the DEI Division for a breakfast event on Thursday, June 23 to discuss the documentary film 13th.
In this documentary, directed by award-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay, scholars, activists and politicians analyze the criminalization of African Americans and the U.S. prison boom. The film's title comes from the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, adopted in 1865, which abolished slavery throughout the United States and ended involuntary servitude... except as a punishment for a crime.
Participants are encouraged to watch the documentary before attending this event. The film is available on Netflix, and DVD copies are available to borrow from Grasselli Library and all local public library systems. (A few clips from the film will be shown during the event for those who are unable to watch it beforehand.)
Open to all students, faculty and staff. Faculty/staff participants can earn up to 50 DEI Champions points for participating in this event.
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Pride Month Program:
Best Practices for Serving BIPOC LGBTQ students
Friday, June 30 | 12:00-1:00 pm | virtual
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We are pleased to welcome Harry Hawkins, Director of the LGBT Center at Case Western Reserve University, on June 30 for a virtual professional development session on best practices in supporting university students with BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) and LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, and more) identities.
When we talk about the intersections of sexual orientation/gender identity with race, we must understand that the same "isms" that affect our society still apply in the LGBTQ community. The Black and Brown experience when we talk of "coming out" or providing resources must be seen through the lenses of how race interacts and affects BIPOC folx.
As a Mixed race, gay man from the South, Harry Hawkins lives and breathes the intersections in intersectionality. In this presentation, he will talk about best practices for LGBTQ folx on campus and ways to adequately meet those students in a way that affirms all of their identities.
Open to faculty, staff, and graduate students. Faculty/staff participants can earn 15 DEI Champions points for participating in this program.
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R.I.S.E. Higher: Featured Article of the Week
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The Exclusivity of Inclusive Excellence
This phrase, as interpreted at many institutions, can undermine the goals of diversity and inclusivity, as well as limit the scope of first-rate scholarship.
Andrea Y. Simpson, Inside Higher Ed, June 10, 2022
The phrase “inclusive excellence” conveys that if an institution consciously welcomes students and faculty of different races, ethnicities and socioeconomic strata, it will not sacrifice “standards.” That appears reasonable. We all want an excellent education provided by excellent instructors. However, “excellence” is too often a code word for upholding the status quo and eliminating all those (ideas and people) that disrupt it.
On the surface, seeking “excellence” sounds like a fair and well-intentioned pursuit. However, it does not do the work of diversifying a set of values and ways of thinking in academia. Instead, it often reinforces the double standard that those of us invested in equity and fair play seek to destroy. The word “excellent,” in all its forms, frequently supports one of the axioms of critical race theory: institutions often do not adopt policies that promote equity and fair play unless they benefit whites. Moreover, “making inclusivity excellent” as a phrase or slogan is increasingly so ubiquitous that it has more or less become meaningless.
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Announcements from our network...
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New DEI podcast from Creighton University
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Our fellow Jesuit institution, Creighton University, recently launched a new monthly podcast about diversity, equity and inclusion entitled "Threads of Equality," addressing the real impacts of these issues on people’s lives — at home, in their schools, in the workplace, at the doctor’s office and more. Hear stories from real people and connect with scholars, authors and business leaders to work toward creating a more just world.
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Celebrate Juneteenth!
A few more local events and online resources
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Other articles we're reading this week ...
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Bishop forbids Jesuit-run school from calling itself ‘Catholic’ for flying LGBT and Black Lives Matter flags: The middle school's president wrote in a letter to the school’s community that the school would continue to fly the flags as it appeals the bishop’s decision though church channels. (America, June 16)
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How long COVID could change the way we think about disability: The coronavirus pandemic has created a mass-disabling event. Many have found their lives dramatically changed and are grappling with what it means to be disabled. (The Washington Post, June 6)
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How Diversity Became a Bad Word at One State’s Public Colleges: South Dakota's public institutions report an increasingly hostile climate for people who want to talk about race in their classrooms and promote diversity, equity, and inclusion on their campuses.(The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 6)
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Across the country, educational equity was in vogue. Then it wasn’t. Across the country last year, school board elections became the epicenter of a culture war over race. Conservative victories led many boards to fire superintendents and curtail racial justice initiatives. (The Washington Post, June 8)
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Legislation to Limit Critical Race Theory at Colleges Has Reached Fever Pitch: Bills introduced in state legislatures across the country have increasingly taken aim at higher education and the discussion of race, racism, and gender in college classrooms and programs. (The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 8)
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The Long Shadow of Eugenics in America: As young girls, the Relf sisters were sterilized without consent. What does the government owe them — and the thousands of other living victims? (The New York Times, June 8)
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None of this was a given’: 50 years of Title IX and fighting for equality in US education: In 1972, a civil rights law was introduced to prohibit sex discrimination in US schools and colleges but a new exhibition shows that the work continues. (The Guardian, June 13)
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The Case for White Accountability Groups: proponents of the groups say they serve as a first step to engage people who may be reluctant to talk about race. (The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 14)
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Photo: a group of JCU students, faculty, and staff, accompanied by their family members and friends, gather behind the JCU CSDI banner for the Pride in the CLE march in downtown Cleveland, June 3, 2022.
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