Days before the end of the semester, President Tiefenthaler sent an email out to all students, faculty, and staff, with the purpose of addressing the racism and violence that had occurred both nationwide and on the Colorado College campus. She specifically referred to the Yik Yak incident from November.
“During these times, it’s more important than ever that we engage in dialogue — which in turn creates a strong and supportive community — and then take action,” said Tiefenthaler.
President Tiefenthaler wants us all to engage in this effort, and she lists several initiatives that the campus will be taking this second semester to promote a more positive energy.
One of the school’s biggest initiatives it will undertake is called: “Diversity and Inclusion: The Promise of a Liberal Arts Education.”
This initiative aims to create a coherent plan to develop, (you guessed it), diversity and inclusion on campus and in the classrooms.
“We aim to build on ongoing efforts to (1) diversify the faculty and student body, (2) to evaluate the effectiveness of our current approaches to diversification, and (3) to consider what kinds of programs might best support faculty and students who choose to come to CC,” said Sandra Wong, Dean of the College.
In terms of addressing the diversity of the faculty, the school plans to utilize a development program called “Good to Great: Journey to Inclusion” to show attendees how to scope out opportunities related to faculty and staff hiring.
The second issue to be addressed is all-college curriculum requirements. The Curriculum Executive Committee will be looking into requirements at peer institutions and examining their strategies. They are also exploring ways in which students can engage more deeply with the topic of social inequality.
While the college will not necessarily be adding another all-college requirement to the list, they will, as Dean Wong phrases, “be reviewing the critical perspective requirements (West in Time, Social Inequality, and Global Cultures) to consider the aims and objectives of these requirements and whether and how we are achieving our goals through the courses students take and the knowledge and skills they acquire.”
The last component of the Diversity and Inclusion initiative will address the manner in which we exchange different perspectives.
The college has already taken action to achieve this goal with their “open-dialogue circles” hosted by The Butler Center. The discussions give students a chance to share their feelings about recent local and national events.
What is discussed at the discussions? The college recently released a student survey to gather information about students’ experiences at CC, in light of the recent “violent” events.
The survey responses will help inform discussions, such as the “open-circle dialogues,” about key issues to address.
First-year Johnathon Williams has attended two open-dialogue circles.
His impression of them is that they are “an extremely productive way to vent anger and try to piece what is going on.” However, he also points to a downside of the discussions, saying that many can choose, and are choosing, not to engage.
For this reason, President Tiefenthaler calls all students to engage in the effort to create a more positive environment.
Annie Engen
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