Bobcats Against Bias Week

Mar 4, 2022 2:00 PM

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#BobcatsAgainstBias

Frostburg State University’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI) will host “#BobcatsAgainstBias: A Week of Celebrating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” the week of Friday, April 1st through Friday, April 8th. Each day will have a different theme, and events, workshops and information will be offered throughout.

  • Friday, April 1st- Sunday, April 3rd, members of the campus community will participate in the National Coalition Building Institute, Leadership Development Training. Upon completion of the 2.5-day training, participants will receive a certificate of completion and be eligible to continue developing the skills of a DEI facilitator. For more information about this training and to register, contact the office at odei@frostburg.edu.

  • Monday, April 4th is Kick-off Day, Honoring the Legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr on the 54th anniversary of his assassination. The MLK event will start with the dedication ceremony of Brownsville Hall (residential hall) at 6:00 p.m. followed by a unity march to the Gira Center, room CCIT for a Racial Healing program. Student organizations, residence halls community members and campus divisions/ offices are encouraged to create a banner reflecting the #BobcatsAgainstBobcats campaign. More information will be available closer to the date.

  • Tuesday, April 5th will be “Take a Pledge Day”. There will be various opportunities to commit to being a part of the #BobcatsAgainstBias movement. Communication Studies faculty member, Dr. Chelsea Daggett, will present "What Did you Meme? A Discussion about Avoiding Misinformation"’ at 2:00 p.m. in a hybrid format meeting in CCIT 161 and online. At 6:00 p.m. there will be a townhall meeting in the Lane Center Atkinson Room. The topic for the townhall meeting is “Women in Public Service”.

  • On Wednesday, April 6th, the theme is “Words Matter”. There will be a hybrid brown bag lunch session, “Safer Spaces” presented by the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights; 12:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m. In-person attendance will be limited, and registration will be required for those wanting to attend in-person.

  • The theme for Thursday, April 7th is “A Day of Civility”. The evening program, hosted by the Allegany County “Choose Civility” is “Social Media and Civility”; the event will begin at 6:00 p.m. in Atkinson Room and online "Social Media Civility: Influencing Community and Strategy Online and On the Ground"

  • The week will culminate on Friday, April 8th with “Building a Legacy of Kindness” with campus community members engaging in a service project (TBA) from 2:00 p.m. -4:00 p.m. More information will be available closer to the date.

There will be information tables and activities in the Lane University Center upper lobby each weekday between 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. to promote an inclusive campus environment and provide opportunities for all to learn more about various ways we may be impacted by bias. Student organizations, faculty and staff are also invited to submit to the ODEI, any program, classroom assignments/ discussion or events which they are holding that supports the #BobcatsAgainstBias mission.

The “#BobcatsAgainstBias” hashtag and logo were created by Communication Studies senior, Raye Maguire and was adopted for this week celebrating the diversity on campus by committing to doing the work to reduce biases and microaggressions that negatively impact the campus climate. Additional information will be provided as we draw closer to the start of the campaign. For more information, contact AVP Robin Wynder, Senior DEI Officer, or McKenna Booker, ODEI Program Management Specialist at 301-687-4050 or odei@frostburg.edu.

FSU is committed to making all its programs, services, and activities accessible to persons with disabilities. To request accommodations through the ADA Compliance Office, call 301-687-4102 or use a Voice Relay Operator at 1-800-735-2258.