Reclaiming Our Campus
Thursday, March 15, 2018 | 4-10 PM
University of Michigan Museum of Art
From anti-Latinx writing on The Rock to racist posters in public spaces and residence halls, our campus stands as a microcosm of the racist attacks occurring across the nation. White supremacists have sought to bring hateful rhetoric and ideas to the heart of campus, igniting difficult conversations about speech in our classrooms, on our campus, in our virtual spaces, and within our broader social interactions.
We affirm that white supremacy and racism have no place on our campus. Allowing hate to flourish at U-M contributes to a culture of fear for members of our community. As a campus, we must take action—using our shared knowledge to learn from one another, build coalitions, and hold our institution accountable for building a just and inclusive environment.
Please join us—students, faculty, and staff—for a campus-wide teach-in as we share knowledge, unpack our experiences, and work toward reclaiming our campus. This teach-in will explore how we can mobilize, engage in activism, and discuss the role of white supremacy and speech. We also seek to uplift the voices and experiences of students, providing a space to dialogue openly with faculty, staff, and administrators in an attempt to bridge gaps and break down barriers.
This teach-in is part of a larger series on 2018 Speech and Inclusion: Recognizing Conflict and Building Tools for Engagement.
Sponsored by the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the National Center for Institutional Diversity, Student Life, the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan, the University of Michigan Museum of Art, and the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.
Evening Overview
4-4:50 PM: KEYNOTE — Hardy Vieux (97’), Legal Director, Human Rights First
5-5:50 PM: CONCURRENT TOPICS A
Constructing Just Classrooms, Deconstructing Whiteness
Victoria Genetin, Assistant Director, Center for Research on Learning & Teaching (CRLT); Whitney Peoples, Assistant Director, CRLT
La Casa, La Raza y La Revolución
Lesley Rivas, Antonio Gallegos, and Alexander Mullen (Undergraduates, College of Literature, Science and the Arts (LSA))
Constitutional Values: Equality and Free Speech
Julian Davis Mortenson, Professor of Law
Making a Grassroots Impact: Leveraging the Resources of Student Government
Okpalefe Edevbie (Undergraduate, School of Kinesiology) and Haya Akbik (Undergraduate, LSA)
6-6:50 PM: CONCURRENT TOPICS B
What’s in a Name?: The Weaponization of ‘Free Speech’ by the So-Called ‘Alt-Right’
Anne Berg, Lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of History
The Science of Implicit Bias
Denise Sekaquaptewa, Professor of Psychology and Women’s Studies
Scholarship is Activism
Tabbye Chavous, Director, National Center for Institutional Diversity; Professor of Education and Psychology
Students4Justice Discussion Session
Lawrielle West (Graduate, School of Social Work), Lakyrra Magee and Jamie Thompson (Undergraduates, LSA)
Navigating Conflict to Build Inclusion
Carrie E. Landrum, Assistant Director, Office for Student Conflict Resolution (OSCR)
7-7:50 PM: "THROUGH OUR EYES", DANCE ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE — Jaime Sharp (Vocals), Johanna Kepler, Sarah Morgan, and Mariah Stevens (Dance), School of Music, Theatre, and Dance (SMTD)
8-8:50 PM: CONCURRENT TOPICS C
Boycott & Upstage: Resisting White Supremacy Under 20th Century Free Speech Law
Kentaro Toyama, Professor of Information
Sloppy Democracy or Stern Fascism?: Psychological Approaches to Understanding Autoritarianism
Joshua Rabinowitz, Lecturer in the Department of Psychology
Social Movement Success: What it is, how to Plan for it, and What Will Likely Go Wrong
Christian Davenport, Professor of Political Science
Black Queer Feminism
Lawrielle West (Graduate, School of Social Work) and Lakyrra Magee (Undergraduate, LSA)
Tell Our Stories: Centering Marginalized Voices at UM Through the use of Multigenerational Podcasts
Kevin Calhoun, Program Lead, NCID; Tonya Kneff-Chang, Research Fellow, NCID; Elizabeth James, Program Associate in the Department of Afroamerican & African Studies (DAAS)
9-10 PM: WHAT'S NEXT? — Dilip Das, Assistant Vice Provost, Office of the Vice Provost for Equity, Inclusion, and Academic Affairs