An open letter to CU and the Boulder community:

In the past few months we, at the Center for Multicultural Affairs, have witnessed several situations unfold and have been concerned about the local reports this spring of false allegations involving men of color as the perpetrators and most notably, around the recent Trayvon Martin tragedy in Florida.

As a community, we stand against these incidences that have profiled people of color and targeted men, in particular, as scapegoats in these unjust situations.  Irrefutably, we recognize that one’s overall sense of personal safety becomes compromised and the value of community violated by those individuals who allow ignorance and fear to ignite their unjust actions.  The tenets of freedom, justice, access and equity are deeply imbedded in our society and when these are violated, everyone is impacted.

As a department, we stand for every student’s undeniable right to fully express their identity and be safe and respected in their community.  Our individual right to participate and experience life at CU, to the highest degree, is key to being successful here and must not be denied to anyone.

We invite everyone to take a stand with us by making a personal investment to deeply examine our own hidden attitudes and biases and to look at ways to reduce fear and ignorance in our daily interactions with each other. We also encourage everyone to take a critical look at how we, individually, participate in our community and to recognize what role and responsibility we each have to enact change.

CMA is committed to aiding every student in their process, especially those who have been affected by these recent incidences.  Whether you, or someone close to you, have been impacted by these recent events, or you are simply looking at ways to engage in discussions on race and ethnicity and further your diversity awareness skills, we would like to offer our services and support in helping all students, faculty and staff build a more inclusive campus.  Additionally, CMA can also help connect you to other departments and resources on campus that can also be of support and advocacy to you.  We encourage you to visit us at any time!

To further the discussion of a very important topic, we invite you to two upcoming events.  The first is a panel and discussion hosted by several CU students this Wednesday, April 4, 2012 at 5:00p.m. at Hellems 201 entitled, Hoodie to Hijab: The Reality of Hate Crimes.   The second event is being hosted by CU’s Freshmen Council called A Day Without Hate on April 27, 2012 from 11:00a.m. to 4:00p.m. at Norlin Quad where a number of booths and resources will be available for everyone to learn more about anti-discrimination, non-violence and ally-ship.

In moving forward, there are a number of helpful resources that are available for furthering dialogues on race, finding opportunities for growth, and expanding skills and competencies.  We hope that, through shared knowledge, responsibility and commitment, we each can contribute to building a stronger and more vibrant community that is respectful of individual differences, experiences and viewpoints.

Center for Multicultural Affairs

103 UCB, Center for Community, Suite N320, Boulder, CO  80309-0103

Phone  303-492-5667, Fax  303-735-0321  Website: www.colorado.edu/studentaffairs/cma

Anti-bias resources:

“The Damaging Effects of False Criminal Allegations”, http://www.coloradodaily.com/our-take/ci_19847898?

“White Privilege:  Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” www.nymbp.org/reference/WhitePrivilege.pdf

“Racial Microaggressions in Everyday Life” ccw.nyjerusalemdialogue.org/webinars/Race_Micro_A.pdf

Anti-Bias Bibliography http://www.understandingprejudice.org/readroom/teachbib.htm

These types of events can impact people in many different ways.  Please contact any of these campus offices for support in dealing with how these events may have impacted you.

Counseling and Psychological Services:  Free and confidential counseling for students

Center for Community, S440     303-492-6766     http://counseling.colorado.edu

 Office of Victim Assistance: Free and confidential counseling and advocacy for students, staff, faculty and their significant others

Center for Community, S440     303-492-8855     http://cuvictimassistance.com

 Psychological Health and Psychiatry: Confidential counseling for a fee or using your Buff Gold Insurance

Wardenburg Health Center     303-492-5654

 Faculty and Staff Assistance Program: Free and confidential counseling for faculty and staff

Administrative Research Center (ARC) East Campus, A353      303-492-3020

http://hr.colorado.edu/fsap/Pages/default.aspx

The Office of Victim Assistance can assist you in navigating academic, University or off campus systems.  If you would like to consult with a therapist or advocate regarding how to support a student, colleague, or peer who may have been negatively impacted by the fires please call the Office of Victim Assistance at 303-492-8855. Additionally, please feel free to contact the Office of Victim Assistance if you have questions about what you’re experiencing or resources.

The Office of Victim Assistance would like to send our deepest condolences to those negatively affected by the fires.

Sincerely,

Office of Victim Assistance Staff

Scholarship for Students Committed to Reducing and Preventing Dating Abuse & Domestic Violence

Description

Dating abuse and domestic violence can have a significant impact on a student’s college experience and their ability to persist and remain in school. It can also affect overall health, including physical and mental health. This scholarship was created to recognize and support students working to end dating abuse and domestic violence by providing financial assistance for educational needs. The hope is that recognizing and financially supporting students will reduce and prevent dating abuse and domestic violence among the campus community.

Scholarships are funded by the Verizon Foundation, which has a core initiative devoted to the prevention of domestic violence. The Gender Violence Prevention Advisory Committee (GVPAC) will review the scholarship applications and make award recommendations and notifications. The GVPAC is comprised of students and staff from various programs and divisions on campus and guides gender violence prevention and intervention initiatives. A total of five grants of $2,700 will be awarded to full-time, degree-seeking students.

Requirements

Applicants must:

• Be currently enrolled and planning to be enrolled in Fall 2012 as a full-time undergraduate or graduate degree-seeking student at the University of Colorado Boulder.

• Maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher.

• By applying for this grant you are giving permission for the scholarship committee to verify your enrollment and check your grades.

• Submit a one to two page, double-spaced, 12 point font, one inch margins, essay about your work towards ending dating abuse and domestic violence to:  Jessica Ladd-Webert, Director, Office of Victim Assistance and Chair of Scholarship committee, jessica.ladd-webert@colorado.edu

• Attach a one page resume.

• Attach two letters of recommendation from individuals who can speak to your commitment to dating abuse prevention or domestic violence issues.

• Remember to include your full name, email address, and student ID number on all submitted documents.

• Deadline to apply: March 15th, 2012 by 5pm

Application Evaluation Criteria

Applications are evaluated on the following criteria:

• Demonstrated commitment to reducing and preventing dating abuse and domestic violence. Examples of this include, but are not limited to: providing information to peers on the issues, volunteering for a local domestic violence organization, being an active member of a student group dedicated to gender violence/domestic violence issues, having an academic focus on dating violence or domestic violence.

Number & Amount of Awards

• Five scholarships will be awarded by the end of April 2012 and will be applied to your 2012-2013 academic year.

• Notifications will be sent to the email included in the application.

• Each scholarship will be in the amount of $2,700.

• Please note that if you receive financial aid this award could impact that.  Please follow up with the Office of Financial Aid for more information:  http://www.colorado.edu/finaid/

Contact Information

• Jessica Ladd-Webert, phone: 303-735-2323 or email: jessica.ladd-webert@colorado.edu

FORGE website: http://forge-forward.org

Please contact OVA at 303-492-8855 or assist@colorado.edu for more information and/or feedback.

Are you looking for ideas for bulletin boards?  A bulletin board template on services offered by Office of Victim Assistance is located on the link above.  Please print and use!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 12, 2011
Media Contact: Roberta Sklar 917.704.6358

REPORT ON HATE VIOLENCE AGAINST LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER, QUEER AND HIV-AFFECTED COMMUNITIES RELEASED TODAY:
Report shows second highest murder rate ever recorded. Transgender people and people of color are most targeted communities for severe hate violence.
To download the full Report please visit NCAVP online

For the rest of this press release please click here

Corey Higgins shares his perspectives on gender violence prevention. Watch the video to see the full interview.

The first video is an interview with Jessica Ladd-Webert, LPC, on the difference between stalking and harassment and how to use CU’s Office of Victim Assistance to help you.  This video was created by Community Health, a division of Wardenburg. 
 

This second video is a some what humorous, yet realistic video on stalking and facebook. 

Last this third video is a news cast from CBS interviewing an expert on stalking who is talking about what to do if you are experience stalking. 

For more information on stalking visit:

http://cuvictimassistance.com/issues/stalking/

National Stalking Center http://www.ncvc.org/src/Main.aspx