Volume 2, Issue 16: December 17, 2020
R.I.S.E.* Up Newsletter
*Reinforcing Inclusion through Skill-building and Education
Dolly Chugh - Change making is soul work. Resilience is soul work. Resistance is soul work. And souls must be nourished just as our bodies must be nourished. Water will quench thirst and food will quench hunger.
From the Desk of the Vice President for Diversity Equity and Inclusion - with photo of Tiffany Galvin Green
Wrapping up the Year... as a Present to Ourselves

Reflecting upon the importance of joy (as described by our upcoming speaker, Professor Dolly Chugh), our office held a virtual "Grab & Go Joy" workshop this week to encourage us to reach for, remember, and reflect on those things that bring joy to our lives. After all, it’s December, which many call the "season of joy." It is important to recall and deliberately and intentionally engage in moments of joy – it feeds the soul, the spirit and the body!

December also marks the end of the year for many of us around the world. And what a year it has been! Is it any wonder that many are saying “Good Riddance 2020"? We have faced unprecedented challenges, losses, changing realities, conflicts, tensions, and even catastrophes. Our communities are facing a new awareness of systems and structures of injustice, inequitable treatment, and great loss. Some of us -- myself included -- are experiencing many emotions to see this year end, emotions more complicated than merely “goodbye and don’t come back."

We have had to find new ways this year to interact, new ways to celebrate occasions and commune with loved ones, new ways to teach and to learn, new ways to work with our colleagues, new ways to mark significant milestones or transitions, and even, unfortunately, new ways to grieve and persevere through loss. So, this moment feels like less of a “good riddance," and more of a “WOW – look at what we made it through!”

So, I turn back to these words from Dolly Chugh as a reminder of how to pay attention to our souls and to our spirits as this year ends and we roll into another year. And who knows what kind of new challenges or opportunities we will face in 2021?

It is important to take this moment to acknowledge the ragged and rugged road traveled in 2020. Recognize the ways our world (and each of us) have been changed. Recognize how we displayed resolve, how we have resisted when necessary and forged ahead towards new beginnings. Acknowledge that we are very different individuals, families, communities, institutions, and world from what we were in January 2020. 

This year is a lesson in how we cannot take anything for granted, yet we must remain hopeful. I encourage you to find your sources of joy as the year comes to an end: find things you can be proud of and grateful for from the past 12 months. Identify the things you are looking forward to in 2021 with new found appreciation. May these kinds of reflections become a natural response you rely upon for feeding your soul and spirit.

We must remain nourished as a community, to remain supportive and to continue to thrive. And thrive we will. Bring it on, 2021!

Sincerely,

Tiffany Galvin Green, Ph.D.,
Vice President for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
The Holidays are Upon Us!
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December 25 marks the Christian celebration of Christmas, the feast day celebrating the birth of Jesus.

The holiday did not really take hold until around the 4th century, and many scholars believe the date for Christmas was chosen by counting 9 months from the date of the Feast of the Annunciation, (March 25).

Over time the festival in Europe grew to incorporate many pagan traditions that are still used today to celebrate the Winter Solstice, such as Yule logs, Christmas trees, merrymaking, feasting and gift-giving. In other regions of the world, Christmas celebrations incorporate many regional, cultural and religious elements to create a rich and diverse tapestry of holiday celebrations.

This Christmas, take a minute to learn about how a Christian community somewhere else in the world celebrates this holiday.
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December 26 marks the beginning of the seven days of Kwanzaa, a celebration of African heritage created by Maulana Karenga, a major figure in the American Black Power movement of the 1960's and 70's, as a way to encourage Black pride, identity and culture.

The name Kwanzaa derives from the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza, meaning "first fruits". First fruits festivals are traditional in some parts of Southern Africa, celebrated in December/January with the summer solstice.

The seven days of Kwanzaa celebrate seven principles: unity, self-determination, collective responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith.

The greeting for each day of Kwanzaa is the Swahili phrase Habari Gani? ("How are you?") Learn more about Kwanzaa here.
Division Announcements
Join our January Community Book Read now!
Image - cover of the book The Person You Mean to Be - How Good People Fight Bias - by Dolly Chugh
The DEI division is delighted to announce a second Community Book Read of the book The Person You Mean to Be: How Good People Fight Bias, by Dolly Chugh.

All participants who register by the end of December will receive an e-book which is theirs to keep. Click below to register.

Dr. Chugh is an award-winning psychologist and faculty member at the Stern School of Business at New York University who studies how and why most of us, however well-intended, are still prone to racial and gender bias. The book provides a practical guide for how, as individuals, we can move past personal barriers to become active builders for the systematic work of diversity, equity, and inclusion, including racial injustice.

The community book read is open to all staff, full-time and part-time faculty, undergraduate and graduate students, alumni and board members.

The book discussion group will meet virtually over Zoom on January 8, 15, and 22 from 12- 1 pm.
SAVE THE DATE!
January 26, 2021, 7:00-8:30 pm
Virtual Fireside Chat with Dolly Chugh, Ph.D.
image of Dolly Chugh giving a lecture
Coming up in January 2021, the DEI Division is honored to welcome Dolly Chugh, Ph.D., for a virtual "fireside chat" in conversation with Dr. Tiffany Galvin Green, Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Dolly Chugh is an internationally recognized social psychologist and TED speaker and is the author of the book The Person You Mean to Be: How Good People Fight Bias, our Community Book Read selection. She is an Associate Professor in the Management and Organizations Department at New York University Stern School of Business. She has been named one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics by Ethisphere magazine.

This program is open to students, staff, faculty and alumni. Registration will open in January.

Faculty members: if you want to consider incorporating Dr. Chugh's work into your spring semester syllabus in advance of this event, we can help you with materials! Please contact [email protected] for details.
"Online Interview Tips for College Students"
Wayfinders Program Workshop Recording Now Available!
Screenshot of video program on Online Interviewing
The Wayfinders Program under the Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion department recently held an Online Interview Tips Workshop which is now available on YouTube for anyone who missed it!

Gina(she/her) Talerico, CSDI Intern, and Selen(she/her) Zarrelli, Program Coordinator, talk about the practical actions you can do now to help you be career-ready for your upcoming interviews in remote settings. These tips can be applied beyond interviews to have a professional setup in your home in the remote era.

Follow @jcucsdi on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for more upcoming workshops in the Spring Semester.
Dr. Green's Pocket Guides on
Navigating Difficult Holiday Conversations
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Trying to figure out how to raise the difficult topic of holiday plans in this unusual year? Wondering how to engage in meaningful, civil dialogue about issues of equity and justice with that difficult family member over the holiday dinner table (or, more likely, in the family Zoom call)? Do you want to speak up, but afraid the only way to keep the peace is by staying silent?

Dr. Tiffany Galvin Green has created two "pocket guides" with tips on navigating difficult conversations with family and friends. Click below to download!
Image of tip card on Navigating Difficult Conversations about Holiday Plans
Image of tip card for Navigating Difficult Conversations at the Holiday Gathering
Photo of Progressive field with Indians team name on field and scoreboard
Great News for Cleveland:
MLB Baseball Team Name is Being Retired at Last!

In a statement issued Monday, Cleveland's Major League Baseball team formally announced that it has decided to change its team name after years of complaints, lawsuits and public protests about the insulting nature of the name from members of the Native American community and their supporters.

The team reports that it is now in the process of "determining a new, non-Native American based name for the franchise." It is the second major sports franchise in the U.S. to jettison its name in 2020 for this reason.

You can read more about the change and community reactions to it at the links below:


Photo credit: Arturo Pardavila III on Wikimedia Commons
R.I.S.E. Higher: Featured Article of the Week
Are You Ready to be Anti-Ableist in 2021?
Make a New Year’s Resolution to add anti-ableism to
your skillset from 2021 going forward.
Sheri Byrne-Haber, CPACC, Medium, December 11, 2020

We need more people to be anti-ableist.

Ableism is a set of beliefs or practices that devalue and discriminate against people with physical, intellectual, or psychiatric disabilities and often rests on the assumption that disabled people need to be “fixed” and are not equal to non-disabled individuals.

Anti-ableism is the opposite of ableism, with a practical focus on strategies, theories, actions, and practices that challenge and counter ableism, inequalities, prejudices, and discrimination based on any type of disability — including visible, invisible, learning, developmental, physical, or mental health.

.... (click below to read more)
Announcements from our network...
Promo Image for Virtual Posadas program December 16-24
The tradition of Las Posadas is a reenactment of the eve of the first Christmas, when Joseph and Mary searched for room at the inn, but none was to be found. In a traditional Las Posadas celebration, a group of people travels from house to house singing, seeking shelter for the night, answered by those indoors, answering in song.
Ignatian Solidarity Network
"Virtual Posadas"
December 16-24
From December 16-24, the Ignatian Solidarity Network invites participants to share in a daily virtual experience of music, art, prayer, reflection, and action in solidarity with the migrants on the U.S-Mexico border who come in search of shelter and protection, just as the Holy Family did on Christmas Eve.

Participants receive a short video each day by email or text with an opening Posadas song, prayer, and a learning or reflection activity. The program is presented in both Spanish and English.
Webinar: The Biden Administration and LGBTQ+ Rights: What You Need To Know
silhouette image of a group of 7 people in a line with multicolored speech bubbles above their heads
In this free webinar, Equitas Health Institute hosts a discussion about the impact a new Biden-Harris Administration and a newly elected Congress will have on LGBTQ+ rights across the United States. This webinar will include a detailed accounting of the current state of LGBTQ+ rights, as well as the legal and policy implications of the 2020 U.S. election.

Thursday, January 14, 2021
12:00 noon EST.