Volume 6, Issue 10: May 5, 2022
R.I.S.E.* Up Newsletter
*Reinforcing Inclusion through Skill-building and Education
Image of Cathy Park Hong with quote - “The indignity of being Asian in this country has been underreported... The lie that Asians have it good is so insidious... but racial trauma is not a competitive sport.
May is Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) heritage month. This heritage month often goes under-recognized on college campuses because it falls during the busiest time of the academic year. However, busyness is no excuse, particularly as the experience of the AAPI community is increasingly fraught in recent years.

Hate crimes specifically targeting those with AAPI identities are growing at an alarming rate. According to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, anti-Asian hate crimes increased by 339% in 2021. In this context, then, it becomes even more important to find ways to honor AAPI heritage month.

Here are a few suggestions: 

1) Take a stand against prejudice, intolerance, hatred and bigotry.

2) Support the work of AAPI professionals, scholars, leaders, and students.

3) Learn the history of AAPI communities.

4) Appreciate the cultural importance of food.

5) Attend Events, Museums and Exhibits.
  • Participate in the Cleveland Asian Festival on May 21-22. This annual grassroots event -- back in person this year! -- features a variety of Asian and Pacific Islander foods, performances, cultures, and traditions in Northeast Ohio.
  • View four current exhibitions at the Cleveland Museum of Art featuring art and musical instruments from Korea, Japan, China, and India.
  • Many cultural events programs are still being offered virtually! Look for opportunities to attend events all around the world to encounter AAPI cultures.

AAPI Heritage Month provides an opportunity for all of us to learn from, understand, and greater appreciate the experiences of our colleagues, our students, our neighbors, our families, and sometimes, ourselves. I hope you will join us in this work of building understanding, of becoming better at providing support, solidarity and appreciation to all those around us. We are growing stronger together. Thank you for being on this journey with us.
Megan Wilson-Reitz

Sincerely,
Megan Wilson-Reitz
Interim Manager for DEI Programs
p.s. Today is also Cinco de Mayo, a Mexican national holiday celebrating the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. Please join me in wishing a very happy Cinco de Mayo to our colleagues, students, friends, and neighbors who are celebrating the holiday today!
Division Announcements
Welcome Naomi Sigg!
Banner beside photo of Naomi Sigg reads Welcome Naomi Sigg - JCU's new Vice President for Diversity Equity and Inclusion.
We are pleased to announce that the DEI Division at John Carroll University will soon have a new leader! JCU President Dr. Alan Miciak announced this week that Naomi Sigg has been named as our new Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She will start at John Carroll on May 31, 2022.

Sigg joins us from Case Western University, where she has focused on the development of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives on campus and in the Division of Student Affairs as Senior Associate Dean of Students. She serves as the Co-Chair of the Student Life Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, founding member of the Asian, Pacific Islander, Desi, and Asian American (APIDA) Task Force, Co-Chair of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation Committee, and serves on several university committees including the Diversity Leadership Council, and Alianza Latina/Latino Alliance, the Latinx employee resource group. Sigg is a certified Green Dot Facilitator, Sustained Dialogue Moderator, and recently completed a Certificate in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace.

"I am thrilled to be joining the John Carroll University community,” said Sigg. “I have long admired JCU's mission, identity, and values that align with working toward a more vibrant, equitable, and just society for all. I am looking forward to working with students, staff, and faculty to ensure that everyone is part of the work toward building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community where all members can thrive and where everyone belongs."

Students, faculty and staff should watch their emails over the next few weeks for announcements of opportunities to meet our new leader. Please join us in welcoming Naomi Sigg to JCU!
Multicultural Recognition Program promotional image
This year the Center for Student Diversity & Inclusion will celebrate our 10th Annual Multicultural Recognition Program TONIGHT, May 5, 2022, at 6 pm.

This year's event will be in person after having the program for virtually the last two years. We are absolutely thrilled to celebrate our 120 undergraduate and graduate students who come from historically marginalized backgrounds!

This year, our seniors will receive first-generation cords (first in their family to attend a college) and lavender cords (graduating LGBTQIA+ community members and their allies) at the event and the Kente Cloth, a Graduation Stole.

This highly popular event is by invitation only, but there is some standing room available for faculty and staff. If you would like to attend in order to celebrate these amazing students, please join us!
Faculty Summer Book Club:
Linguistic Justice: Black Language, Literacy, Identity, and Pedagogy
Wednesdays, June 1 - July 6 | 1:00-2:00 pm | virtual via Zoom
Cover image of the book Linguistic Justice shows a young Black person being roughly silenced by a hand over their mouth
The DEI Division Office, Writing Center and Writing Across Carroll program announce an exciting collaboration on a 2022 Faculty Summer Book Read. Our book selection is Linguistic Justice: Black Language, Literacy, Identity, and Pedagogy by April Baker-Bell.

This book brings together theory, research, and practice to dismantle Anti-Black Linguistic Racism, the linguistic violence, persecution, dehumanization, and marginalization Black Language-speakers endure when using their language in schools and in everyday life. Baker-Bell introduces an alternative pedagogical approach, Antiracist Black Language Pedagogy, to pursue linguistic and racial justice.

The book club will meet on Zoom on six subsequent Wednesdays to discuss each chapter of the book in turn. The book club will focus on the faculty experience but is open to all interested faculty and staff.

Register at the link below before Friday, May 20 in order to receive your own copy of the book.
#AmWriting [an Inclusive Syllabus]
faculty breakfast + syllabus work sessions
Wednesday, May 18, 9:00-11:00 am
Thursday, May 26, 9:00-11:00 am
lady-keyboard-hands.jpg
Please join us for an end-of-term breakfast and supportive group work session designed to help faculty begin the work of making their fall syllabi more inclusive. Choose from one of two planned sessions (or come to both).

Work together with your faculty colleagues in a supportive, collaborative setting to start building concrete diversity, equity, inclusion, access, and student support strategies into your Fall 2022 course syllabi. Come prepared with drafts of your syllabi and/or other course materials to work on. Resource materials (and plenty of coffee) will be provided. Support staff and faculty from the DEI Division, Writing Center, Grasselli Library, and other key units will be on hand to help offer feedback and ideas and answer questions.

Faculty from all disciplines are encouraged to attend. Register below by
Friday, May 13. Participants will receive 30 DEI Champions points for attending.

Please email [email protected] with any questions.  
Congratulations to our DEI Champions!
Banner reads Congratulations to our new DEI Champion Badge Recipients with image of blue badge
This week we are very proud to congratulate Tainne Dallas, Assistant Director of the CAS Professional Development Program, on receiving the Mosaic badge, the highest level of DEI Champions badge that can be earned! Congratulations, Tainne!

In addition, we congratulate Katie Jansen, Assistant Director of Student Engagement, for receiving a Blue badge this week!

Our DEI Champion Badges recognize our faculty and staff members for their participation in diversity, equity and inclusion efforts here at JCU (and beyond). All members of the JCU faculty and staff, including part-time and temporary staff and graduate assistants, are eligible to become DEI Champions.

All DEI Champions Program participants will be recognized at a DEI Champions Luncheon on Thursday, May 19. Watch your email and campus mail for an invitation arriving soon!

Log on to Canvas today and check to make sure you have given yourself credit for all of the activities you have taken part in this academic year! Any points earned before May 31 will count towards your 2021-22 badge!
R.I.S.E. Higher: Featured Article of the Week
Education Professors React to Divisive-Concept Laws
Adrienne Lu, The Chronicle of Higher Education, April 25, 2022

New state laws and other actions limiting what teachers can say in the classroom about topics including race, racism, and sexuality typically apply to elementary and secondary schools. So professors, while often opposed to the laws, have largely remained unaffected. But at least one group of faculty members has felt a direct impact: those training teachers.

Since 2021, more than a dozen states have passed laws — sometimes referred to as divisive-concept laws — or used other statewide actions such as executive orders to restrict how teachers discuss certain issues. Many draw language from an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in 2020, which has since been revoked by President Biden.

Academics who have spent their professional careers working to help mold future teachers say the laws represent not only a violation of academic freedom but the rolling back of progress toward more inclusive classrooms.
Related Legislative News Alert:
Ohio HB 616 - "Divisive Concepts"/"Don't Say Gay" Bill

In early April, Ohio lawmakers introduced a "teaching divisive concepts" bill in the state House of Representatives that is similar to those already passed in other states, (as discussed in our feature article, above). See some reactions to the bill from around the state, below:

Announcements from our network...
Near West Theatre presents
Drag Queen Story Hour
with Veranda L'Ni & Friends
Saturday, May 7 | 11 am - 12 pm | Free (donations welcome)
6702 Detroit Ave., Cleveland [also live streamed]
Drag Queen Story Hour promotional image
Join the one and only Veranda L’Ni and her amazing friends, as they read a selection of stories and lead sing-alongs that share messages of kindness, understanding, and celebrating who you are. Come for the books, stay for the dancing and family fun!

We create a welcoming environment where aspiring readers can celebrate diversity and inclusion, and break the stigma around harmful gender stereotypes through exposure to LGBTQ+ role models. Families even take home a book courtesy of our partners at Visible Voice Books and sweet treats from our friends at Fear's Confections.

This program is ideal for ages 3 to 8 and their family, and lasts about one hour. This event often sells out quickly. Don't wait to register!
Upcoming programs of interest
at the Cuyahoga County Public Library
library logo
Our county’s library system has been ranked #1 library system in the nation for 12 years running, and for good reason. There are many programs coming up on their schedule in the next two weeks that may be of interest to R.I.S.E. Up newsletter readers; some offered in person at various library branches and some offered as virtual programs:

Save the date for Ursuline College's first annual
Juneteenth Celebration
Saturday, June 18 | 11:00 am - 3:00 pm
Ursuline College, 2550 Lander Road, Pepper Pike
Flyer for Juneteenth Celebration June 18. Painting entitled The Hills We Climb by Jerome White. Realistic painting of a young black woman in a red dress standing tall at the top of a hill holding a yellow feather high overhead glimmering in the sun.
Co-hosted by Ursuline College and the City of Pepper Pike, this family-friendly event commemorates the end of chattel slavery in the United States.

Join us to hear the featured bands Ikembe and The Cover Girls while enjoying food, storytelling, drumming circle, face painting, local vendors, an art station, and an art exhibit in the Wasmer Gallery, “Juneteenth: The Freedom and Responsibility Exhibition,” featuring works by 10 Northeast Ohio artists on the theme of racial and social inequities in our region and our role in shaping the community's future. (On view through August 25 - see details here.)

Free and open to the public. Supported in part by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.

Questions? Contact Yolanda King at 440.684.6085 or [email protected].
Other articles we're reading this week ...

  • The Cost of Leading While Black: I have come to expect that race will be weaponized to undermine not only a leader’s authority but also that leader’s very humanity and sense of belonging. The aim is to intimidate and exhaust us. (The Chronicle of Higher Education, May 3)
  • Accommodating Mental Health: The national mental health crisis plaguing colleges is stretching disability support offices, where more students are registering psychological disorders to receive classroom accommodations. (Inside Higher Ed, May 3)
  • UNC Journalism School Downgraded to Provisional Accreditation in the Wake of DEI Concerns: The change is due to the ACEJMC’s concerns regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) at the school, especially in the wake of journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones turning down a tenured position because of administrative controversy surrounding her hiring. (INSIGHT into Diversity, May 4)
  • Anti-CRT Laws Take Aim at Colleges: In statehouses around the country, bills claiming to combat critical race theory and “divisive concepts” in education are being signed into law. Though many states’ bills initially focused on public schools, more have taken aim at colleges. (Chronicle of Higher Education, April 26)
  • Harvard Details Its Ties to Slavery and Its Plans for Redress: The university is committing $100 million for an endowed “Legacy of Slavery Fund.” Its report carefully avoided treading on direct financial reparations for descendants of enslaved people. (The New York Times, April 26) 
  • Few Black, Hispanic, and Native Researchers Are Getting Published: A new study found that between 2010 and 2020, there was virtually no change in the representation of Black, Hispanic, and Native American researchers among authors of scientific publications. (Chronicle of Higher Education, April 25)
  • This is No Way to Treat Pregnant Workers: The United States still has no federal law providing workers with an affirmative, clear and effective right to reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth and related medical needs. (The Washington Post, April 25)
  • Antisemitism Increased Under Trump. Then It Got Even Worse. The Anti-Defamation League this week released a report showing that in 2021, there were more antisemitic incidents in America than in any other year since the group started keeping track over 40 years ago. (The New York Times, April 29)
  • Native American Students Can Now Attend U. of California Tuition-Free: The university system will waive many costs for in-state students from federally recognized tribes — and a new scholarship announced on Wednesday will cover other Native students. (Chronicle of Higher Education, April 27)
  • We Raised Our Female Faculty Numbers. So Can You. Tips from a university that once drew national attention for its dearth of tenured women. (Chronicle of Higher Education, April 21)
  • Black Women Navigating the Workplace: A Few Strategies: Recommendations based on a study of the experiences and perspectives of Black women staff members in higher education. (Inside Higher Ed, April 29)