Barnard Council on
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
Introducing our NewsletterA note from the editor
It is my pleasure to introduce a new, regular newsletter written by the students on Barnard’s Council on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion! In each edition, we will communicate the Council’s new and ongoing initiatives, showcase events relevant to the Council’s mission that are happening on campus, and feature a different resource available to the Barnard community.
Student representatives to the Council. Left to right: Daniela Lebron '22, Noa Shapiro '19, Leeza Kopaeva '22, Tirzah Anderson '21, Emily Ndiokho '22
Most importantly, we will ask you for your feedback and questions regarding the Council’s work. Our goal is to be engaging, transparent, and accountable to the Barnard community. The Council on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strives to expand the dialogue about diversity, equity, and inclusion to include the entire Barnard community of students, faculty, staff, and alumnae. It aims to promote and coordinate campus-wide participation in Barnard’s diversity and inclusion initiatives. Read more about the Council’s mission on the website. Five
Barnard students joined the Council in October, and we are already hard at work to brainstorm and implement our ideas. Read more about each of us and our commitment to the Council’s mission here. We look forward to your contributions and support of the Council’s important work. — Noa Shapiro ’19
Currently on the CouncilEvery edition, we will communicate the Council’s new initiatives. The Council recently updated its title to include Barnard’s value of ‘equity.’ We feel that adding this value to the title better reflects our mission and goals. We have two further exciting updates for the semester: the college-wide search for the Vice President for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement and Barnard’s new Inclusion Grant, which is open to all Barnard students, faculty, and staff. In mid-November, open forums
were held for community members for the search for the new Vice President for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement. Students, faculty, and staff met with Spelman and Johnson, the firm managing the search, to gain insight into Barnard’s culture, mission, and goals. Read more about the search on the website. We look forward to welcoming the incoming Vice President and working with them. The Council recently announced a new initiative, the Barnard Inclusion
Grant, to finance projects and events that help enhance inclusion efforts across our community. Projects will foster inclusion, belonging, and equity in the community. The Council will make final funding allocation decisions by December 21, 2018. We look forward to announcing the projects that receive a grant allocation.
You AskedWe want to hear from you! In an effort to foster and strengthen dialogue surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion on campus, we have created a space for Barnard community members to submit their questions, thoughts, and ideas for the Council. We hope this space will support the Council’s effort to be more responsive to the Barnard community. Questions will be answered in the next edition of the newsletter.
On Campusby Leeza Kopaeva '22
Unseen: Unpublished Black History from the NYT Photo Archives Please visit the exhibit in the Altschul tunnel through December 31. On November 29th, I attended Unseen: Unpublished Black History from the New York Times Photo Archives, an event co-sponsored by the Council. The event showcased the creators of Unseen, a collection of unpublished photographs that were discovered in the archives of The New York Times by Darcy Eveleigh and her colleagues, and turned into a rich visual presentation of moments in
black history. These photographs capture some of the most influential moments and leaders in African American history, as well as everyday people and their lives. The event was moderated by Professor Kim F. Hall, from the Department of Africana Studies, who led the discussion between Eveleigh and co-creator of Unseen, Rachel Swarns. The event highlighted the importance of looking for what isn’t there, in photographs, in stories, in news articles, to discover who and what are lost when diversity, equity, and inclusion fall into the background. The power of a photograph is obvious, but the intentions behind it aren’t always clear. Swarns and Eveleigh suggested that there is an importance in asking why one person or object is included in an image and why another is not, and how those choices have influenced the way the media has presented African American
history. I encourage everyone to take some time to view a few of the photographs that are on display until the end of December in the Altschul Gallery on the 1st floor, as well as online at The New York Times.
Resourcesby Emily Ndiokho '22Each edition, we will highlight different resources at Barnard. Well-Woman is Barnard’s peer-to-peer health education group, run by 20 student peer health educators and a staff
member. Well-Woman provides a space for crafts, mental/emotional/spiritual/physical wellness educations and activities, resources for safer sex, and a library all for student use. They are located in Reid Hall 119.
Open hoursPeer educator drop-in hours:
Sun, Tues, Thurs, 7-9 pm
Staff hours: M-F, 1-4 pm
Craft nights: Wed., 7-8 pm
On Monday, December 10, 2018, the College held a listening session to discuss racism and provide support for students, in particular black students and students of color. To learn more about this incident visit our news page. On November 29, 2018, the College denounced anti-Semitism and hate crimes. To learn more about this incident visit our news page. Watch this space and barnard.edu for updates and future events addressing this issue.
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