Response and Action Steps to the Black Action Plan
As a department, our mission is grounded in listening to the voices within our community and serving as allies, educators, activists, and service leaders. The Department of Community Service has read, reviewed, and discussed the demands and progress of the Black Action Plan. Over the recent years, our team, both professional staff and student leaders, have engaged in numerous conversations centered around social identities, race, and the lived experiences of the volunteers that engage (or may not engage) with our department. Although the Department of Community Service has been intentional with programming over the years, we acknowledge that we have room for growth. Through engagement in conversations, training, and as always, listening to the voices of our community, we have outlined some action steps for us to continue to ensure we are inclusive, anti-racist, and that our values, core competencies, and learning outcomes are embodied by each of our campus and community partners. This brief document outlines a glimpse into the training/professional development of our staff and students (recent past and future), policies, programs, and communication plan in response to the Black Action Plan.
In staff conversations, we also brainstormed a variety of other programs and opportunities that will require additional resources (staffing, time, research) to advance forward. The action steps above are not to represent singular moments in time, but rather create a framework for ongoing conversations, programming, and leadership of the department. As we advance forward, the department will make a commitment to celebrate and uplift differences, and consider equity by ensuring all marginalized populations are represented and supported throughout the department. We commit to elevating our voices when we witness moments of racism and when our social identities are not being celebrated. We seek the partnership of our students, staff and faculty colleagues, community partners, and alumni in this important work. If you have questions, suggestions, or comments please feel free to reach out to any member of the team or Lucas Malo, Director of Community Service.
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Policy:
- Initiate conversations with the Student Union to ensure leadership, advising, and adequate funding for all alternative break programs. Work through issues that limit participation, address white savior complex, and explore new sites that may be of interest to BIPOC.
- CEAP Ambassadors will conduct Focus Groups of BIPOC, international, and male volunteers to determine barriers that may limit community engagement and necessary departmental resources. This is a continuation of the pilot conversations that were launched last spring.
- Establish a committee to review all policies and decisions made for the Commitment to Service Award Program, to elevate the goals of the program while ensuring informed and inclusive decisions.
- Engage in dialogue with campus partners and Student Union to pursue funding (scholarships, work-study or other) for student leaders and volunteers engaged in community service to ensure access across campus.
Programming:
- Apply to the Boston Foundation for a grant (February deadline) to offer a 2021-2022 school year leadership series for BIPOC students (Brandeis and Waltham High School), co-facilitated by a variety of campus and community partners.
- Implement Support Community opportunities and training for students who are feeling the weight of our world, Covid, racial injustice and are activists or change agents in our community and may be feeling burnt out, lacking hope, or seeking support in this important work.
- Work towards sustainable inclusion of Racial Justice grant applications in the R/C CLIF Program.
- Develop practices that support and ensure representation of racial and other social identities in departmental committees as well as leadership programs and events.
- Coordinate a panel discussion or workshop on prejudice and racism in community engagement work.
- Build framework and resources to support students who are engaged in activism and civic engagement efforts by expanding our definition of types of community engagement to be more inclusive of diverse student needs and abilities to engage.
- Intentionally collaborate with the Intercultural Center, ISSO, GSC and other campus partners to ensure all students from all identities are engaged and aware of the resources and programs within the department.
Ongoing and In Progress Action Steps:
Please note, although these tasks may be in progress or completed, we understand that this work is part of a continuum and that progress will continue and evolve.
- The department, with new campus partners, are in the final stages of securing a new Commitment to Service Hours tracking platform which will allow us to expand the breadth of policies and service hours.
- CEAP Ambassadors & DCS staff facilitated several focus groups with alumni, BIPOC students, international students, and male students to re-imagine how we work.
- Waltham Group hosted a campus-wide Prejudice in Community Engagement panel for a discussion about what it means to truly engage in a community and how to acknowledge and overcome the hazards that come with volunteering.
- A three-part program will be facilitated through The Piece Project, where student leaders and professional staff members will discuss issues of community, access, and identity.
- All professional staff will participate in an internal book discussion, centered around race and social identities. ODEI will provide options for suggested texts and facilitate an end of book discussion.
- We will continue to coordinate DEI training for all departmental student leaders, including R/C CLIF Fellows, CEAP Ambassadors, Waltham Group Coordinators, and will expand to include Office Assistants.
Completed Action Steps:
- Formed a team inclusive of the Brandeis & Waltham community members to create a planning and leadership team for the new BIPOC Leadership, Networking, and Mentoring Series and are on target to submit our grant application by February 1st.
- CEAP Ambassadors & DCS staff facilitated several focus groups with alumni, BIPOC students, international students, and male students to re-imagine how we work.
- Waltham Group hosted a campus-wide Prejudice in Community Engagement panel for a discussion about what it means to truly engage in a community and how to acknowledge and overcome the hazards that come with volunteering.
- 2 staff members participated in White Affinity Groups, organized by the ODEI
- All full-time professional staff participated in Advancing Racial and Social Injustice at our DCS Summer Retreat
- Director co-facilitated Boston Community Engagement Network’s discussion on the Chronicle of Higher Education: Race & Higher Ed Webinar
- Director attended Black Lives Matter 2.0 by the ICC
- All full-time professional staff participated in Values & Mission discussion at the DOSO Summer Retreat
- All staff members attended Coming Together to Face Systemic Racism, an open campus dialogue led by ODEI
- 2 staff members participated in the Sankofa Community Conference: Co-Constructing Racial Justice through Life and Work through Heller
- 1 staff member attended a monthly series of webinars hosted by the Chronicle of Higher Education on topics including; Race, Class, & Academic Life; Race, Class, & Student Activism; Race, Class, & the Path to College; and Race & Higher Education
- Continue to use social media, DeistActs, This Week in Service as a tool to share resources, demonstrate support, and educate our on and off campus community about DCS programs and resources.
- We commit to reviewing, updating, and reevaluating our progress and action steps on this plan every quarter through a departmental meeting and at least one annual meeting with the Dean of Students Office or ODEI on our action steps and progress. We also commit to communicating those updates through the website updates, annual reports, and social media. The purpose being for community and campus transparency, collaboration and accountability on overall progress and action steps.
- This document will be shared with all current Waltham Group Coordinators, CEAP Ambassadors, R/C CLIF Fellows, and Office Assistants. students leaders within the department and through at least one annual open input session that is open to the entire campus. Upon doing so, there may be edits as we continue to discover and put on paper the voices from within our community.
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Upcoming or In Progress:
- All professional staff will participate in a monthly internal book discussion, centered around race and social identities. ODEI will provide options for suggested texts and facilitate an end of book discussion.
- We will continue to coordinate DEI training for all departmental student leaders, including R/C CLIF Fellows, CEAP Ambassadors, Waltham Group Coordinators, and will expand to include Office Assistants.
- A three-part program will be facilitated through The Piece Project, where student leaders and professional staff members will discuss issues of community, access, and identity.
Completed (Summer & Fall):
- 2 staff members participated in White Affinity Groups, organized by the ODEI
- All full-time professional staff participated in Advancing Racial and Social Injustice at our DCS Summer Retreat.
- Director co-facilitated Boston Community Engagement Network’s discussion on the Chronicle of Higher Education: Race & Higher Ed Webinar
- Director attended Black Lives Matter 2.0 by the ICC
- All full-time professional staff participated in Values & Mission discussion at the DOSO Summer Retreat
- All staff members attended Coming Together to Face Systemic Racism, an open campus dialogue led by ODEI
- 2 staff members participated in the Sankofa Community Conference: Co-Constructing Racial Justice through Life and Work through Heller
- 1 staff member attended a monthly series of webinars hosted by the Chronicle of Higher Education on topics including; Race, Class, & Academic Life; Race, Class, & Student Activism; Race, Class, & the Path to College; and Race & Higher Education