Race Matters - an example of the BSU community at work

It's day 4 of blogfest and our topic today is community-  What is community like at BSU?  What does it mean to me? 

Having been a part of the BSU community for almost 20 years, I think I've gotten to know our community pretty well.  In many ways it is not unlike most college communities - there are things that make us special and some we need to work on.   Perhaps one of the things I love most about being part of a community like Bridgewater is that we aren't afraid to look at the latter. Take today for instance when 300 members of the community including students, faculty, adminstrators, staff and alumni came together for a day of dialogue called Race Matters.  The focus of the day was to explore issues of race, racism and white privlege and to consider - as a community - how we can confront the ways in which our community lets these issues stand in the way of being the kind of place we want it to be for all our community members, most importantly the students we are committed to serving.

The day began with the breaking of bread because food is....well....a symbol of community at BSU. After a welcome by the president, Dana Mohler-Faria, and a keynote bynewly appointed president Rusty Barcelo of Northern New Mexico College, a group of students shared stories from their peers about their BSU experiences in and out of the classroom.  They offered us a look at life for students of color, GLB students and others who are in the minority on our campus and shared their hopes for how the university could improve to help them feel more included and empowered. For many of us, it opened our eyes to how different the BSU experience can be for some and helped focus discussion during lunch and an afternoon of concurrent sessions that explored how to create racial equity, for students and employees,  Dr. Barcelo's path as a trailblazer for equity in the academy, and how to improve course design and discussion in the classroom to raise awareness about issue of race and privilege.

By the end of the day, the candid, powerful and hopeful closing remarks by Michele Wakin helped us all reflect on what we heard and how we can all, both as individuals and as a community, work to keep these issues in the forefront of dialogue as we strive to make Bridgewater the type of  community we all know it can be and hope it will become.

The discussions today and the diverse array of people who came together to share their thoughts and ideas are perfect examples of why I am so proud and privileged to be a part of  the Bridgewater community! While we celebrate our successes, we are not satisfied with them.  We want to be the best campus community possible for all our community members.  We want to be an excellent community, one in which equity and excellence go hand in hand.  That's a community to be proud of!