Power & Privilege Symposium Schedule
For greater reach and accessibility, the P&P Team has created a hybrid model of the symposium with both virtual and in-person components.
Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023 at 6 p.m.
Symposium Keynote
Reid Campus Center, Young Ballroom
Due to limited seating, please RSVP in advance to reserve your spot. The event will not be livestreamed, but will be recorded and available to view after the event.
The Power & Privilege Symposium is honored to welcome activist, professor and scholar Loretta J. Ross to deliver the keynote address at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 21 in the Reid Campus Center, Young Ballroom.
Loretta J. Ross is a professor at Smith College, a MacArthur Fellow, and is nationally recognized for her expertise on racism and racial justice, women’s rights and human rights. Her TED Talk, “Don’t Call People Out—Call Them In” has more than 2 million views on ted.com. Learn more.
Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 6:30 p.m.
Guest Artist Performance
Reid Campus Center, Young Ballroom
Hip-hop collective Sounds of the People will perform live.
Thursday, Feb. 23
Power and Privilege Day
Classes are canceled on this day to encourage participation.
Sessions will be led by Whitman students, faculty and staff at various campus locations, as well as live streamed.
Accommodations and Accessibility
- There will be one to three seats reserved at each session for students with disabilities.
- There will be an American Sign Language interpreter at the keynote speech.
- We ask that sessions are kept fragrance-free for those with sensitivity to smells and chemicals.
- All buildings, excluding Hunter Conservatory, have ramps and elevators to help with physical accessibility.
- All-gender restrooms can be found on each floor of Maxey, in the basement of Hunter Conservatory, in the Glover Alston Center, on the first floor of the Hall of Science, and on the main floor of Prentiss Residence Hall.
- Campus Security can be contacted using the phone number 509-527-5777 or can be found in Technology Services 130.
- Volunteers can be found in Symposium T-shirts and can help with accessibility throughout the day.
The Power and Privilege Symposium is dedicated to making this event as accessible as possible. If you have concerns about accommodations and accessibility that aren’t listed here please e-mail symposium_operation@whitman.edu.
Session Blocks
Expand the time blocks for session details. Livestreamed sessions will be marked with an (*).
Olin Hall, Auditorium:*
“The Woke Imperium” - Fielding Schaefer '23
Hall of Music, Chism Recital Hall:*
“How Healthcare Has Failed Minorities: Dismantling the US Healthcare System” - Michelle Shin '23 & Katie Jose '23
Reid Campus Center, Young Ballroom:
“Combating Racial Battle Fatigue” - Nadine Stecklein, Assistant Director for Internship Programs
Olin Hall, Auditorium:*
“Navigating Mental Health as a Disabled Athlete” - Megan Taylor ’24
Maxey Hall, Auditorium:*
“Why Discussing Intersectionalities Matter: A Focus on the Fluid Experiences of Queer/Trans People of Color” - Tatiana Villegas ’23
Hall of Music, Chism Recital Hall:*
“The Pandemic of Ableism: On Mental Health in Serial Killer and TV Drama” - Ahmed Elsayed ’23
Reid Campus Center, Young Ballroom:
“Selling Allyship” - Nikki Brueggman, Assistant Director for Career Readiness & Employer Engagement
Maxey Hall, Auditorium:*
“Transnational Palestinian Solidarity: How You Can Take Action Across Borders” - Owen Jakel ’25, Franko Omair ’25
Hall of Music, Chism Recital Hall:*
“Policy Writing is the Floor: Decolonial Approaches to Cripping the Law” - Sueli Swiazdowski ’24 & Lydia McDermott, Associate Professor of Rhetoric, Writing, and Public Discourse and Director of the Center for Writing and Speaking
Reid Campus Center, Young Ballroom:
“Homonegativity and Cisgenderism: Ramifications of Normalizing Heteronormative Structures Within the Classroom on College Campuses” - Rachel Freeman-Cohen, Director of LGBTQIA+ Student Services
Olin Hall, Auditorium:*
“The Listener’s Project: Queremos Escucharte, Amplying Voices Through Oral History” - Marian Sandoval Lemus ’23
Olin Hall, Auditorium:
“Re-visioning Antisemitism in Conspiracy Theories” - Avery Ehlers ’25
Maxey Hall, Auditorium:*
“Eugenic Euphoria” - Kate Moe ’25
Virtual Session (via Zoom):
“No More Allies: Confronting the Problem of Scripted Activism” - Ilse Spiropolous ’23
Reid Campus Center, Young Ballroom:
“The Privilege to Not Care About Climate Change” - Ash Joshi ’25
Self-Care and Utilizing the Counseling Center
The Symposium can be an exciting time to teach and learn. It can also be an emotionally challenging time given the topics that will be discussed and questions that may be asked. To fully engage in the symposium, please take care of yourselves before, during and after. A few options for self-care include but are not limited to:
- Be mindful. Pay attention to what your mind and body are telling you about your stress level.
- Listen to your thoughts and feelings. If you are getting overwhelmed, take action to address it with deep breathing, stepping out or asking for support from those you trust.
- Take breaks as you need them during the various sessions.
- Reach out and talk with your social supports both inside and outside of the community.
- Finally, the Counseling Center will be open, and if you want to speak with someone about your emotional experience please go to 502 Boyer Avenue. Someone will be there to greet you and assist. You can also call the Counseling Center by dialing 509-527- 5195.
Drop-in Hours with the Counseling Center: 8 a.m. through 5 p.m.
Students can call the main office line at 509-527-5195 for an appointment and will be provided a Zoom link to meet with an available therapist.
Best Practices for Engagement
Actively participate. Engagement is essential for critical conversations, increased understanding of each other’s identities and movement towards change.
Commit to change. This day should influence how you approach social issues throughout the rest of your life. When you commit to try and fix an issue, you motivate others to join you in the process of sustained change. If opting to stay neutral is easy for you, it is essential to remember that some may not have the sheer choice of opting out. This day is only one installment in a larger movement to make Whitman a more inclusive space.
Stay the course. Don’t be deterred when it comes to having hard conversations. Oftentimes people are scared of and turn away from these conversations because they fear they might look ignorant.
Remember that we are in a learning environment. If you do not understand other people’s positions of oppression because you are not in them yourself, continue to ask questions, share and listen.
Treat each other with dignity and respect. Respect the opinions of others even if you do not agree or understand their perspectives. Likewise, there is no acceptance of hate speech, discriminatory speech or any forms of degradation.
Remember:
- Utilize “I” statements when responding.
- Listen attentively and respectfully. Suspend judgment.
- Pay attention to what surprises you and what confuses you.
- Try to practice the ‘both/and’ approach rather than ‘either/or’".
- Accept and reject as needed but be able to articulate the why.
- Practice confidentiality. Take the learning, not the experiences.
- Question the idea, do not criticize the people.
- We are all responsible for the learning.