I am using this space today to affirm that Colorado College remains committed to providing safe, welcoming, and inclusive learning environments for everyone in our community, regardless of race, creed, color, caste, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender identity, marital status, disability, veteran status, age, or genetic information. We are all, at best, guests on indigenous land.  No matter where you’re from, no matter where you’re going, you matter. You belong.  

Changes in the presidential administration and subsequent executive orders have created uncertainty and fear for many. There are tangible concerns and anxieties provoked by the wave of new executive orders and legislation aimed at higher education; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and marginalized communities as well as the harmful messages of disaffirmation that accompany them.  

While much is still unknown, we are currently reviewing our relevant policies and procedures with our legal team to ensure continuity of care and to provide clear information for our campus community.  Most orders require regulatory agencies to give recommendations to the administration of how to enact the policies within several months. This means we may not have a clear picture of potential changes or impacts for many of these orders until the summer. Others will require immediate action, and I am working with campus leaders to provide guidance on those elements.  We will work to provide as much clarity, calm, and stability as we can in the interim. As a part of this effort, you will see a new section within this newsletter, National Topic of Impact, to draw attention to happenings and what to expect next at CC when and if any action is needed.   

If you or someone you know is struggling, I encourage you to consult the many resources available on this campus and in our community.  I also ask you to act with me and extend care and support to those around you.  

In solidarity,

Rosalie

Gender

Over the last month, three executive orders that pertain to how the federal government will redefine and regulate sex and gender in federal level programming and agencies moving forward were released. These include defining sex as a binary, restricting access to gender-affirming care, and restrictions on transgender athlete participation. Over the coming weeks, you will see additional communication about resources to navigate this topic, among others, shared from a variety of offices to aid impacted community members.  

We recognize the impacts of this information will be felt differently for each person. We are committed to providing unwavering care and support. As always, we take care of each other. 

New Resource Hub

IDEAL has been working to create the new Belonging@CC MS Team where you can find important guides, tools, resources, and information.

Of particular note at this time is the  Communicating Care Guide, which can help you listen to someone’s concerns and refer them to the right resource.  

Many thanks to Heather Heinnickel, IEB programs coordinator, for compiling these resources.

Antiracist Book Club

Our third ABC read for the year is Eating the Landscape: American Indian Stories of Food, Identity, and Resilience by Enrique Salmón. 

Dr. Salmón is an indigenous ethnobotanist and CC alum having received his MAT from Southwest Studies. In Eating the Landscape, Salmón introduces us to Traditional Ecological Knowledge or Native Science through intimate stories of people, food, land, and community throughout the Southwest and Northern Mexico.

Dr. Salmón will be joining our campus for multiple engagements in Block 7 through The Hulbert Center for Southwest Studies. Please stay tuned for details. 

Pick up your copy of Eating the Landscape at the campus bookstore. The reading guide can be found on our website, on The Hulbert Center website, and in our Antiracist Book Club MS Teams channel. 

Friday, Feb. 21 at noon In the WES Room in Worner Basement  

Immigration Removal Proceeding Information Session with Professor Violeta Chapin, Clinical Professor of Law, Assoc Dean for Community and Culture, CU Boulder Law School.   

Open to all CC students, faculty, staff, and community members, including parents and family members. 

Monday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. in Shove Chapel 

Special campus speaker Pádraig Ó Tuama: The Borders of Belonging: exploring belonging in time of conflict and uncertainty. Irish poet and theologian Pádraig Ó Tuama’s work centers around themes of language, power, conflict, and religion. Sponsored by the CC Chaplain’s Office. 

Monday, Feb. 24 and Thursday, March 6 from noon – 4 p.m. Cornerstone 101 

Mental Health First Aid: Learn how to help someone who is experiencing a mental health challenge. After completing training, participants will be able to recognize the symptoms of a mental health challenge and provide support. Lunch will be provided. Register here. 

Tuesday, Feb. 25 and Tuesday, March 4 from 3 – 5 p.m. at Sacred Grounds 

Spirituality and Mental Health: Sam Paulin of the Counseling Center and Chaplain Kate Holbrook will explore the intersections of spirituality and mental health in a two-week series. 

Thursday, Feb. 27, noon – 1:30 p.m. in Bemis Great Hall 

Annette M. Rodríguez, Assistant Professor of History, University of Texas at Austin will present her talk titled, “Her X Mark: Women’s Testimonies of Resistance in the U.S.-Texas Borderlands.”  Her X Mark” focuses on the January 28, 1918, massacre in Presidio County, Texas, where the Texas Rangers and local ranchers killed 15 Mexican men and boys. Rodríguez traces how Mexican and Mexican American women’s testimonies must critically shape our historical understanding. Mexican and Mexican American women—as journalists, survivors, widows, descendants, and scholars—are central to our knowledge and analysis of anti-Mexican violence in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. These histories of atrocity are also histories of courage. In several moving first-person accounts, we locate the witness and the advocacy of women who lost family, land, and safety—yet testified in the hope for justice (often signing simply with their X marks). Please RSVP here or email swshulbert@coloradocollege.edu. 

Thursday, Feb. 27, 2 – 3 p.m. in the Gates Common Room in Tutt Library 

Queer Justice at School: Book talk with author, Dr. Elizabeth Meyer. Light refreshments will be provided. 

Saturday, March 1 at 2 p.m. 

In Her Bones: Please join the Office of Institutional Equity and Belonging and the Hulbert Center for Southwest Studies for a community building event to include viewing and engagement. In Her Bones, written by Jessica Kahkoska, premiered at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College (FAC) on February 15. Created through community-based research, this play explores identity, ancestry, and the hidden histories of crypto-Judaism in the Southwest. Tickets, snacks and beverages provided. Please RSVP here.  

Friday, March 7 – Sunday, Dec. 13 

Margarita Cabrera’s Space in Between + CARE exhibition will be opening at the FAC on March 7, where it will run until Dec. 13. Two ongoing bodies of work will be on display with some of the works in Space in Between (SIB) having been created in collaboration with our immigrant neighbors thanks to the leadership of the following local organizations: Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (CIRC), Accompaniment and Sanctuary Coalition Colorado Springs, Centro de la Familia, and The Butler Center. SIB explores immigration stories and materializes these experiences into embroidered soft sculptures taking the form of desert plants made from US Border Patrol Uniforms. SIB is co-curated by Katja Rivera, Rebecca Parker, and Dr. Nancy Ríos. 

Additional events and details can be found in our Belonging@CC MS Team, and on The Butler Center and CC Chaplains offices’ Instagram pages.

Brenda Soto, Andreea Marinescu, Owen Cramer, and Dustin Fife participating in the Building Bridges program.

Brilliant collaborative effort by Beth Malmskog of the Faculty Executive Committee, the Staff Council, the Cultivating Community subcommittee of the Antiracism Commitment Committee, and the Dean of the Faculty in envisioning, creating, and launching the Building Bridges program. Over 100 staff and faculty signed up for the program! 

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.