We wish you all a joyful fall season and a great start to Block 2. May we find comfort in the possibility that accompanies new beginnings. This block we hope you make new connections and create new possibilities at one of the many justice-centered program offerings that our campus is privileged to still be able to organize and enjoy. Please read on to discover events from the Butler Center and Elder Debbie, a powerful dance performance connected to our Fall Antiracist Book Club selection, and additional programming from collaborators on and off campus. 

I wish to extend heartful gratitude to the Durán Family, the Hulbert Center for Southwest Studies, and the FAC for their collaboration on our Sense of Place Field Engagement – The FAC and the Durán Family Chapel. Please read more about this meaningful experience below.  

All this continued hard work to create a campus committed to academic excellence, belonging, and community-building has been recognized with this year’s 2025 Higher Education Excellence and Distinction (HEED). This national recognition, the HEED Award, not only affirms our commitments to a more just world but also recognizes the efforts of many. 

Finally, please help me welcome to our team, Aiyanna Quiñones, who joins us as our new Programs Coordinator—welcome, Aiyanna! We are excited and lucky to have you join us.  

Lovingly in community, 

Nancy 

Aiyanna Quiñones (she/her) is from Colorado Springs. She earned a B.A. in Sociology with a minor in Women’s and Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs and is pursuing master’s degrees in Public Administration and Sociology. Drawing inspiration from her family’s ties to Vieques, Puerto Rico, her work centers on the intersections of race, disability, and policy, with a focus on bridging research and advocacy. Outside of her studies, she enjoys dog sports, reading, and time with her service dog, Ebony. We are very excited to have Aiyanna as part of the IEB Team!  

Aiyanna Quiñones, IEB Programs Coordinator

While we welcome Aiyanna, we are also saying goodbye to our beloved Interim Program Coordinator, Heather Heinnickel. Heather was hired last October in a temporary role. With her keen understanding of equity and belonging, Heather has been the engine behind the newsletters, our master editor, and general herder of cats (that’s the rest of us). We will sincerely miss her in our MS Teams Chats and wish her the best in her next endeavor.  

While racial profiling and its impacts on the safety of our community is not new, heightened enforcement methods have pushed questions of legality to the courts. Last week, the Supreme Court overturned a federal court order that had barred agents from making stops without “reasonable suspicion.” In a 6-3 decision, SCOTUS has allowed agents to stop suspects based solely on their race, language, or job, while a legal challenge to the recent immigration sweeps in LA works its way through the courts.  

As we remain vigilant in ensuring the safety of our students, it is imperative that all off-campus trip leaders are aware of and prepared to discuss the risks of travel, even locally, in the current environment. Prior to travel, all trips are required to be registered with the office Global Ed and Field Study and should complete the Field Study Training. Working with students and/or employees with elevated risk to make alternative arrangements and/or an emergency plan is essential.  

If you have more questions on this course, the policy, or off-campus travel risks, please contact Drew Cavin, rrodriguez@ColoradoCollege.edu“> Rosalie Rodriguez, or rhammes@coloradocollege.edu“> Ryan Hammes.

The IDEAL team met during Block 1 to discuss the new structure as a standing operational group, subcommittees, and new projects. We invite departments or individuals who are creating new policies, or updating existing ones, to connect with us if you’d like an equity review of your policy. As a reminder, the ADEI Planning and Evaluation Rubric created by the Antiracism Commitment Committee is an excellent resource available on the website. 

Are you or your club looking for more ways to engage with Dr. Myrriah Gómez’s Nuclear Nuevo Mexico: Colonialism and the Effects of the Nuclear Industrial Complex on Nuevomexicanos? While we will be welcoming Dr. Gómez to CC in Block 8, in Block 2 we strongly encourage you to attend the free performance of Stories From Home by Safos Dance Theater. Stories From Home’s artistic director and choreographer, Yvonne Montoya, is Gómez’s cousin, and uses the body, dance, and movement to tell many of the same stories and histories told in Nuclear Nuevo Mexico.  

In Block 3 we are collaborating with Tutt Library’s UNBOUND program and will offer UNBOUND: How to Start a Book Club. This will be great for folks who are new to ABC or may be looking for a group of people to gather and discuss and/or creatively convene around Nuclear Nuevo Mexico. 

Sense of Place Field Engagement participants: Savanah Pennell, Blaif Huff, Tasmin Zafar Ahmad ’29, Willa Brooks-Kistler ’29, Jaiqi Elisa Zhang ’29, Michael Christiano, Gina Lujan, Mason Randall ’29, Finn Saylor ’29, Doreen Durán, Paige Talerico, Nancy Ríos, Sara Hodge, Kerstin Fay, and Jose Durán.

Pre-Trip Learning Opportunity with Sara Hodge at the FAC with the Durán Family Chapel Santos.

Caring for the Durán Family Chapel Cemetry in Talpa, NM. From left to right: Gina Lujan, Mason Randall, Willa Brooks-Kistler, and Savanah Pennell.

In collaboration with the Hulbert Center for Southwest Studies, the FAC, and the Durán Family, our Sense of Place Field Engagement, The FAC and the Durán Family Chapel, was an offering to the CC community to learn more about the history of the FAC, the role of museum and cultural institutions in shaping and documenting the complex and sordid history of the US Southwest, and to participate in the FAC’s efforts to shift their museum practices to a communities of care centered practice.  

Thirteen staff and students traveled to Taos, NM over Block Break to work with the Durán Family in caring for the sacred chapel grounds. While in Taos, this experiential practice was augmented by Drs. Kathy and Tessa Córdova, who broadened our understanding of the colonization of New Mexico and its impact on our region.  

Thank you to all the collaborators and participants! We hope you can join us on a future Sense of Place Field Engagement.   

The Fall deadline for ACE Grants is approaching! Please complete your submission by Wednesday, Oct. 1 to apply for funding during the fall semester. More information and instructions can be found on this year’s application form. 

We will be holding office hours Tuesday Sep. 23 and 30, from 2-4 p.m. in Worner 216 for those who would like to talk through potential submissions before the October 1 deadline.   

Tuesday, Sep. 23  

Mountain Minyan and High Holidays 5786 Sign-Ups 

To learn more about Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services, as well as other events on campus and in the community, contact Jewish Life Coordinators Barak & Ruthie at jewishlife@coloradocollege.edu.

Sponsored by the Chaplain’s Office & CC Hillel. 

 

Thursday, Sep. 25 from 12:30–2 p.m. in Worner Campus Center, Gaylord Hall 

Undocu-Joy Celebration 

Join the Butler Center and Advocates for Immigrant Justice for a luncheon to celebrate joy for and with the undocumented immigrant community. Lunch provided; registration required. 

 

Friday Sep. 26 and Friday Oct. 3 from 12:30–2 p.m. in Hybl Main Space 

First Gen Fridays 

Open to all First-Gen students, faculty, and staff. Snacks and drinks provided; join the First-Gen Tigers student group to stay updated. 

 

Friday, Sep. 26 from 4–6 p.m. in the FAC Museum 

Open-Hearted: A Roundtable Discussion  

Inspired by the FAC’s upcoming exhibit Open-Hearted, which challenges us to imagine wellness as a collective responsibility, this roundtable of CC scholars, moderated by Dr. Nadia Guessous of Feminist and Gender Studies, will consider “the ableism of neoliberal models of health and wellness and the need to think of health in a more systemic manner.” 

 

Saturday, Sep. 27 from 7:30–9:30 p.m. in Armstrong Hall, Kathryn Mohrman Theatre 

Stories From Home  

(Flyer offset right) 

Through the efforts of The Hulbert Center for Southwest Studies and many others, Safos Dance Theatre will perform Yvonne Montoya: Stories From Home, a multilayered borderlands history told through contemporary modern dance. Admission is free and open to the public but please reserve your seat here. 

 

Tuesday, Sep. 30 in Worner Campus Center 

Indian Boarding School National Day of Remembrance 

Please visit the display created in collaboration with NASU to learn more about and honor boarding school survivors. Wear orange as a visible sign of your support for reconciliation and remembrance.  

Tuesday, Sep. 30 from 12:15–1 p.m. Sacred Grounds 

Talking Circle  

Please join Elder Debbie, the Chaplain’s Office, and the Wellness Resource Center for this block’s Talking Circle; a traditional indigenous method of bringing people together for sharing perspectives, personal reflection, and experiences. Lunch provided. 

 

Tuesday, Sep. 30 at 7:30 p.m. at The Black Sheep 

The Halluci Nation  

Students, faculty, and staff are invited to attend The Halluci Nation in concert at The Black Sheep. Formed in Ottawa, Canada, The Halluci Nation have garnered international acclaim for their innovative fusion of traditional Indigenous music with genres like dubstep, hip-hop, and drum & bass. We will be sponsoring transportation and tickets to this all-ages show. Keep an eye out for a registration form. 

 

Wednesday, Oct. 1 from 5:30–7 p.m. in Worner Campus Center, Gaylord Hall 

Unpacking the “No Sabo Kid” Trope 

Join the Bulter Center and Dr. Jessica Sanches Flores for dinner and a critical conversation to unpack the “No Sabo kid” trope within the Latinx/e community. 

 

Wednesday, Oct. 8 from 12:30–2 p.m. in Worner Campus Center, Room 215 

Block 2 Queer Connect Faculty and Staff Lunch Hour  
Bring your lunch to an informal gathering created to foster community, connection, and conversation among LGBTQIA+ faculty and staff. Hosted by the Butler Center. More information and registration here. 

 

Wednesday, Oct. 8 from 12:30–2 p.m. in Worner Campus Center, Gaylord Hall 

Sabor! A Taste of Latin America 

Empanadas, Tamales, and Reggaeton! All CC students, faculty, staff, and CC affiliates welcome. 

 

Monday, Oct. 13 from 4:30–6:30 p.m. in Sacred Grounds 

Indigenous Peoples Day 

Frybread and frybread tacos in collaboration with NASU. CC community is invited. 

 

Friday, Oct. 15 from 10 a.m.–noon in the Loo Family Gallery, FAC Museum 

Destination Rest by Ashley Cornelius 

Destination Rest is a community nap that invites participants to rest, relax, and replenish, in the community and the arts… The program runs around two hours and includes a custom tea blend to support sleep, collaborative affirmation poetry, and a healing sound bath.  

Throughout the Block, there are many cultural and religious observances. Please visit our website to learn about the many ways you can engage and support these observances on campus and in the community.