On Friday afternoon, a gaggle of school children gathered in the halls of Barnes and Olin Hall for their favorite Friday afternoon activity: science labs. Making excited statements such as “I want to go here!”, the children were in awe of CC’s campus, as well as the CC students that led them through their adventures of the day. One of these students, Ines Siepmann, is a sophomore at CC and bubbles with excitement whenever speaking of Biosciences Outreach club. She wrote about Fridays event, detailing the fun the elementary schools students had.

“Bioscience Outreach Club had their final two events of the year last Friday and this Tuesday, working with elementary school students from Audubon and Jackson Elementary schools, respectively. On Friday, thirty students, grades third through fifth, came to CC for a full afternoon of activities, including four different labs, some explosive and foamy demonstrations, and dinner at Rastall! All students that attended were part of Audubon’s “CC Science Club,” an after-school program at Audubon in which CC students provide lab-based science experiences on a twice a block basis Friday afternoons. This was the first time Bioscience Outreach Club had an on-campus event, and it was a wonderful adventure and success!”

On Tuesday, fifty-five first graders from Jackson Elementary School came to campus to give them a brief depiction of what college life is like, and introducing the concept at a young age. Bioscience worked with them for an hour to show another “Elephant Toothpaste” demonstration, and to learn about basic chromatography through markers, rubbing alcohol, and fabric.”

In the pictures above it is apparent the immense engagement students had with these labs and the CC students that led them through the labs. As Biosciences continues to grow, Siepmann and her peers hope to “continue to maintain a constant, working relationship with our current elementary school, Audubon Elementary, and to continue garnering consistent and excited student commitment (both from CC students and from the elementary school students that attend). Beyond that, we’re looking at a couple different potential growth options — this year, for the first time, we’re having one large, on-campus, multi-grade-level event, which is very exciting! We’re also partnering with a second elementary school to provide a small program for their campus visit. Should we continue to grow and have invested CC students, we plan to potentially look at partnering with additional elementary schools.”

The future of Biosciences is bright as incredibly passionate and dedicated students such as Ines take the lead to expand and improve Biosciences.

Privilege, Power, and Difference, written by Allen Johnson, explores the role of privilege in greater systems of oppression as a means to open one’s eyes to their role in eradicating these oppressive systems. Identifying as a sociologist, Allen Johnson situates himself first in his understanding of his own identity. As a “white, straight, male, non-disabled, middle-class”(xi) person, Johnson is situated in various privileged identities and uses that to examine the ways in which his “good fortune” is related to others’ “misfortune”.

In this discussion is an examination of difference. Drawing from black feminist Audre Lorde and writer James Baldwin, Johnson relates that difference has been conflated to mean inclusion and exclusion. Rather, these terms of exclusion and inclusion were made arbitrarily to create a privilege people and a oppressed people. To understand his privilege and the privilege of others likes him, Johnson reiterates that being or having privilege doesn’t not mean there is space outside that privilege. One cannot escape their privilege and therefore be exempt from its consequences. Rather, they are always implicated in their privilege and what is means for others, and therefore in order to change the privilege one is given, one must change the privileges others are not given. Continuing in his argument, Johnson continues to complicate understandings of privilege and difference by drawing the connections to our capitalist economy. Capitalism has had egregious affects on societal order and politics as it is another form of institutional inequality. One consequence of this capitalist system is individualistic thinking, which leads people to believe their problems are not connected to greater social faults but rather due to their own choices and actions. Johnson makes a point to address this individualistic thinking as problematic as it allows people to blame disenfranchised people for their own disenfranchisement. This type of blaming does not allow one to see that individual problems are rather often symptoms of greater social issues. Being able to appreciate this is integral to address systems of privilege and dominance. Throughout the book, Johnson offers tools that allow us to the work of “undoing” the hundreds of years of institutionalizing “patterns of exclusion, rejection, privilege, harassment, discrimination, and violence that are everywhere in this country” (125). Through dismantling widespread myths such as “ It’s always been this way, and it always will” and offering solutions such as “learn to listen”, Johnson concludes with tangible actions every person is capable of doing to work towards a more just society. He points out that as each of us are complicit in our society, we each cannot be exempt from the work it will take to create a better society for us all.

Johnson’s books moves beyond introduction to the world of feminism, critical race theory, and sociology. He offers his perspective as a jumping off point for understanding the ways in which systems of oppression, domination, and privilege work to create the unjust world we live in today. He defines each important term to make it understandable and accessible, so that this information does not remain in the academic world but can rather be understood by any reader. As a white man situated in many places of privilege, Johnson does have some blindsides due to his position(s) in society, but critically examines himself which is an important tenant of this book and the problems this book aims to address.

From February 27^th until September 9^th, FORCE / RESISTANCE will be available to the public at the Fine Arts Center on Cascade Ave. The Fine Arts Center, in conjunction with Colorado College’s Race, Ethnicity, and Migration Studies Program, curated an exhibition that “seeks to stimulate dialogue around the complex relationships between systems of power and violence in the United States. The artists in the exhibition address a range of issues including racial profiling, mortality, racially motivated conflict, and legislative oppression.” From Floyd D. Tunson’s “Endangered” series to an original documentary From Standing Rock to Colorado Springs, this exhibition provides us an opportunity to interrogate long lasting social issues through various vantage points. Tunson’s black and white portraits of young black men bring humanity to the misunderstood black boy. Dáreece Walker’s painting on vinyl recreate images of police brutality and resistance. On a black white wall, From Standing Rock to Colorado Springs is projected and testimonies of experiences at Standing Rock are shared by Indigenous professors, students, and activists. These images recount stories relevant to the experiences of many communities as they experience force and resistance from and to power.

For more information, visit the Fine Arts Center website. The Fine Arts Center is open daily from 10am to 5pm. Admission is free for members and those with a CC id, otherwise, it is $15 for adults.  

In Los Angeles and Seattle, tiny-home villages have spurred up to meet the needs of the homeless community of that city.  In Seattle, 22 furnished tiny homes comprise a village with electricity, showers, and kitchens. In Los Angeles, 40 “micro dwellings” have been built with solar panels and wheels. These micro villages are not only sustainable but comprise a community of care and intentionality. The tiny-homes village in Seattle has teamed with social workers to aid community members in practicing sobriety, finding jobs, and other personal and practical goals. 10 cities across the country have tiny-home villages where communities are cultivated, to give everyone a place to call home, and to offer homeless people some agency.

A tiny-home village is now coming to Denver in the arts district of RiNo. Including 11 homes, a communal space for food preparation, gatherings, restrooms, and showers will provide housing and vital amenities for 22 people. This initiative, named “Beloved Community Village” will be “democratically self-governed with a mission to provide homes for those people experiencing homelessness that will also cultivate community living and self-empowerment”, as stated on the Beloved Community Village website.

Written by the Beloved Community Village are a number of statements that speak to the importance of this project. They state:

Beloved Community Village exists because…

We, as people needing homes, know we can’t keep waiting for someone else to build them for us.
We must take matters into our own hands and create our own home together with compassion, community, and dignity.
We, in solidarity, take the responsibility to build, govern and sustain our village.
We, as people coming from survival on the streets, know the vast and critical need for safe spaces to sleep without being rousted by police or private security and being under the constant threat of violence.
We believe that all people deserve safe sleep
We the village residents will do all we can to provide this for our community.
We envision the world where all people have this basic right to create homes together.

This project centers the homeless and brings dignity to an often “uncomfortable” topic in public discourse. To learn more about tiny-home, visit the Beloved Community Village website or click here to see other tiny-home villages across the country!

Submit a Proposal for a Community Engagement Mini-Grants!

Apply for a Community Engagement Mini-Grant to support engaged projects this summer or next fall!  Supported by the William P. Dean Memorial Fund, these grants promote initiatives and projects that collaborate with a community nonprofit partner to address the needs of marginalized populations in Colorado Springs or student’s home communities.  The maximum award is $750, which can be spent over the course of one year from the date of the award.  For more information and to apply, click here. 

Applications due 4^th Monday (April 17^th) at noon.

Summer Session at CC provides students an opportunity to continue their studies during the summer when campus is relaxed and at an easier pace. We’d like to highlight some courses that would be of interest to students involved with the CCE! These courses include:

•  EV 141 Sustainable Development
• EV 260: Food and Environment in Colorado
• GS 222: Innovations in Social Work
• PH 203: Anti-Capitalist Movements Today
• SO 116: Global Inequality
• SW 200: The Drug War

Informations on these courses can be found by clicking on the class name above. Many of these classes fulfill the Critical Perspectives requirement! For information on summer session, click here. Be sure to check out how to use your wild card (1 summer block of free tuition!).

Join the “Perfect Your Pitch” Skills Training workshop April 4th at 3pm in the Hastings Conference Room (3rd floor of the Spencer Center).

Many times throughout your college and professional career, you’ll be asked to, “Tell me about yourself.” Whether in a job interview, a networking event, or even in a chance encounter, it’s important to have your personal pitch down. In this interactive workshop, we’ll learn the important components of a personal pitch, and start developing and practicing our own.

This workshop counts as a Skills Training for the Community Engaged Scholars program. All students are welcome. Go here to register!

Apply to serve on the CCE Advisory Board!

Want to help shape the direction of community engagement programming and initiatives on campus?  The CCE is now accepting applications for the CCE Student Advisory Board for the 2017-2018 academic year.  Members of the Student Advisory Board give student voice to the programs and initiatives of the CCE, serve as liaisons between students and staff, and act as ambassadors of the office.  Members work with CCE staff as collaborators and co-creators of programs, providing meaningful student input in issues of community engagement.  For more information and to apply, click here.  Applications due 3^rd Monday (April 10^th) at noon.

The Collaborative for Community Engagement will be acknowledging the special work of five individuals and a community partner with the awards below. Award recipients will be honored at a ceremony that celebrates both exceptional work and the ongoing community-engaged initiatives of the campus community. Refreshments will be provided.

To make a nomination, click here.