(members of boards of IC groups were present)
We began the meeting by clarifying that though this was the IC boards meeting, we would focus the agenda on the IC response to the vandalism that took place over a week ago.
We began by discussing what actions and meetings have taken place since the last community meeting. QSA and SQU had planned to organize a separate followup meeting (which ended up informally collapsing onto this meeting).
One of the most important issues at the moment was the idea to publicly display the broken sign on the Swarthmore campus in order to both
The question arose as to whether there is already a group working on putting up the sign. ADVICE had a loose plan to consider the idea, but we felt that we could use the space at this meeting to square away details and get the sign out there.
Where do we display the sign? We discussed various options. Inside Parrish (which could cause some tension with Admissions and perhaps some administration), McCabe (which seemed like an awkward place to be displaying the sign, Sharples (which again seemed to many to be a slightly awkward holding spot for the sign). Finally we decided on displaying the sign at the front of Parrish between the sets of columns by the front steps. At first we thought of suspending the sign with strong cords and then moved on to the idea of placing it on an easel and securing it with cords that wrap around the columns in Parrish. Accompanying the sign we decided that there should be a statement drafted clearly articulating why this broken sign is here, what exactly happened, and what it signifies for the IC, (etc). Also, we decided to provide paper in the immediate area (either taped onto the walls or on the ground) for people to write their reflections, thoughts, comments, reactions, concerns, etc and just dialogue or respond to other comments so that the sign doesn't just stand alone as a silent marker of the incident of vandalism. One idea was to have a square taped off and to provide smaller squares of paper to write on and tape to paste these small comments on the ground.
There were some concerns voiced about responses from the administration and admissions regarding the placement of this sign outside of Parrish.
But first we thought it necessary to approach the administration. So, from this meeting a group would form to approach Daryl either in person or by emails to all the Deans with details of our plans to display the sign (the motivations behind the act), a timeline, and plans to bring the sign to the forum.
We decided to bring the sign to the community forum on Tuesday night.
We set Wednesday as the date to display the sign. If displayed too late, there were many concerns that it would intersect with Coming Out Week, which might weaken the messages of both and skew the response.
So, Bryan and Ana will work on putting the sign up on Wednesday morning between 9:30 and 10:30 AM .
Also, a groups formed to work on drafting a statement to accompany the sign (to be written before Wednesday and ideally before the forum):
One idea involved making this statement a permanent reminder of the incident, inscribing it on a plaque and placing it by the new sign when it is finished.
How to set up the sign? We decided to talk to Daryl about specifics and get an idea for the general reaction from the administration. In terms of putting it up and taking it down, we need screws, nylon rope, and an easel in addition to the paper supplies for the comments/reactions area.
We moved on to talk about concerns with the overall lack of respect for the IC, incidents when the IC gets trashed, and ways to prevent this from happening. There were some ideas including the presence of PA's or public safety around the IC after parties at Paces.
We voiced a concern with ways to deal with public safety in relation to the IC space, especially the way that the doors are randomly locked or left unlocked at inappropriate times. In terms of having access to the IC and keys to the IC at specific times, Rafael is thinking about creating a key list with the IC interns and three board members from each group to have access to the keys through public safety. The conversation is ongoing and specifically involves decisions about which groups would be included.
In terms of a more long-term conversation, we began talking about getting a new sign for the IC. Since this is really an opportunity to remake ourselves in many ways, there are several questions that need to be answered. Who do we want on this sign? Are there groups currently not considered one of the four core IC groups that after some discussion could be included? We are confident to get to a place at which these questions will be figured out. What is this sign going to look like? And where are we going to display it? This includes the size of the sign, the logos for each of the groups, incorporating the new IC logo (website). As far as location, a possibility for greater visibility would be above the arches in Clothier.
In terms of a timeline, once these conversations are had and we have a new design, action will be taken towards getting this new sign.
Next, we began talking about action pieces when thinking about this recent vandalism. Rafael talked about some of his plans to invite friends and colleagues from UMass Amherst at the Social Justice Educational Forum (?) to lead workshops and discussion about confronting heterosexism, homophobia, and injustice in general.
Other things that are occurring now include conversations with RA's and their halls. Tanya has been conversing with the Deans and with RA's to both begin these important conversations, and to create some sort of a protocol for reactions to these sorts of events.
There was a concern that with so many groups working on this issue, there is a need to clarify roles and communicate better between the groups so that we know who is doing what. This is connected to certain organizing tactics, including communicating to the larger campus with IC members as writers for publications on campus. These are ways to think about creating a larger solidarity in the community and to think about communication, collaboration, and our relation to one another.
Also, we discussed ways that this issue would affect Coming Out Week. There were concerns that it would clash with the tone of celebrating acceptance that week. Yet, there are ways that it could be kept as a possible topic of conversation.
We are concerned with ways to keep the discussion going past Coming Out Week and into our daily conversations; ways to see institutional change that occurs because of a much larger urgent action.
Also, the idea of keeping an institutional memory arose. It is so important to keep good archives and to preserve these memories so that years from now the future IC will not forget.
In terms of general IC updates:
We closed the meeting at 8PM.