Wednesday, November 30, 2022

From the Division of Diversity and Inclusion:

 

No more allies. The Power & Privilege Symposium is coming on February 23, 2023. This year’s theme, No More Allies, names the feeling shared by many in the Whitman community that we need to move beyond isolated words or gestures, and become deeply, authentically, collectively committed to social justice.

 

No more allies. 

 

Learning for Justice distinguishes an ally from an accomplice along these lines:

 

“An ally will mostly engage in activism by standing with an individual or group in a marginalized community. An accomplice will focus more on dismantling the structures that oppress that individual or group—and such work will be directed by the stakeholders in the marginalized group.”

 

So this is a call to action—we ask that you commit to being an accomplice by leading a session (applications are due tomorrow), by volunteering, by attending and joining the conversations needed on this campus to make meaningful progress. 

 

Read more.

A Community Gathering for
Sadness, Anger, Resiliency, and Joy

From the Office of LGBTQIA+ Student Services:

 

It deeply saddens and angers us to continuously witness the consequences of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, and the encouragement of a political and social climate that is fatally hostile towards minoritized communities. The Club Q shooting—six years after the Pulse shooting and on Trans Day of Remembrance—serves as a targeted reminder that settler colonial and imperial legacies, along with racism and white supremacy, are structurally prevalent throughout the country. 

 

The queer community has consistently carved out spaces for ourselves in a world that voluntarily erased our histories and impacts on society. To see another space, violated through the encouragement of hate and the dehumanization of LGBTQIA+ identifying individuals, is extremely taxing towards a community that is too familiar with loss and grief. But we also know that in times of tragedy, community and solidarity is where we turn to nurture our bodies and process our emotions. Singing, writing, dancing, performing and many other mediums have always been modes of resistance and healing for queer people. 

 

A Community Gathering for Sadness, Anger, Resiliency, and Joy

 

In the wake of the tragic events that unfolded at the Club Q nightclub in Colorado Springs, the Office of LGBTQIA+ Student Services in partnership with the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life will host a community gathering from 3-4:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 2. to provide time to acknowledge our sadness and frustrations while also recognizing that joy itself is an act of resistance. This drop-in style event will begin with a time of quiet reflection in the All Faiths Room (Reid 110), followed by connection and self-care activities in the Reid Campus Center Young Ballroom. All are welcome to join for chill music, snacks, coloring books, de-stress toys and conversation.

The first event in the 2022 Studio Series will feature guest artist Sadiqua Iman performing "Ritual of Blackness" on Thursday, Dec. 1 at 8 p.m. in the Freimann Studio Theatre. Iman is an interdisciplinary performing artist, director, producer, and costume designer. "Ritual of Blackness" explores how one must prepare oneself for stepping out in the world as Black, and how, in order to survive, one must cater to the needs of the sacred, the soul and society.

The following wilderness first aid courses will be offered in Spring semester:

• January 6-15, 2023: Wilderness First Responder
    Whitman: $700; community: $800
• February 18-20, 2023: Wilderness First Aid
    Whitman: $275; community: $375
  
• February 18-20, 2023: Wilderness First Responder Recertification
    Whitman: $345; community: $395
  
• March 11-20, 2023: Wilderness First Responder
    Whitman: $700; community: $800
  

Need-based financial aid is available for Whitman students. For more information contact Outdoor Program Rental Shop Manager Alicia Gutierrez or Director of Outdoor Programs and Senior Adjunct Lecturer of Sport Studies Brien Sheedy.

Students, check your email for the HEDS Campus Climate Survey link. This anonymous survey asks students for their perceptions of Whitman’s campus climate, perceptions of how Whitman supports diversity and equity, and about experiences with discrimination and harassment. Your feedback is due by Monday, Dec. 5!

Daily COVID-19 Update

In accordance with Washington state Labor & Industries employer requirements, we are notifying the campus community that since yesterday, two people with Whitman access were confirmed positive for COVID-19. 

 

Please continue to follow all our campus COVID-19 protocols to help prevent transmission. If you have any symptoms that may be COVID-19 or know that you may have been exposed to coronavirus, please be tested. Additional masks and rapid test kits are available in the front entryway at the Welty Student Health Center during normal operating hours. 

Have an event you'd like to share with campus? Submit the information to the Events Calendar.

“Whitman Today” is produced by the Office of Communications and is emailed Monday through Friday to Whitman College staff, faculty and students. All times are listed in Pacific Daylight Time. 

 

All submissions are welcome! If you have accomplishments to celebrate, an event to publicize or other content to share with the Whitman community, email whitmantoday@whitman.edu. Submissions should be 125 words or less. The deadline is noon for the following day's newsletter. Submissions may be edited and/or held for a later date according to space and editorial needs. Your submission also authorizes use on Whitman's social media unless otherwise specified.

 

Previous issues of Whitman Today are archived on our website.