UVM Next Step Retreat

Spent some time today doing curriculum editing and planning for this coming year - major thanks to our past facilitator friends for helping us think things out!

From its opening 10 years ago, the Davis Center's mission has been to be student focused, complement the university's academic mission, to celebrate and support social justice, and to be a community centered college union for campus. Our commitment to that mission has never wavered.

Student Life and the Dudley H. Davis Center are proud to be allies and advocates as we work towards dismantling the racism and white supremacy that exists all around us. As a core tenet of Our Common Ground, we will always tirelessly work for justice, to make not only our campus a better, more inclusive place - but our society as a whole.

We see you, and you matter to us.

Our 2018 Next Step Community! 💜

There is still time to apply to apply to the Next Step Social Justice Retreat! Go to http://go.uvm.edu/8fo2v by THIS Friday, November 17th at 11:59pm!

oh hey! It's Trans Awareness Week. Here's 5 quick ways to be better.

Apply to the 2018 Next Step Social Justice Retreat!

The mission of the Next Step Social Justice retreat is to create a safe and inclusive, yet challenging experience for students (undergraduate and graduate), staff, and faculty where issues of social injustice and oppression are discussed honestly and openly through the experiences and stories of each other.

The participant application deadline is November 11th at 11:59pm.

A valid UVM NetID and password are required to log-in to the Lynx system and fill out the application. To apply, please go to http://go.uvm.edu/8fo2v

The retreat is from January 19th-21st, 2018. For more details visit the application.

If you have any questions, please email Maggie Hussar (she/her/hers), Graduate Assistant for Leadership and Civic Engagement, at [email protected]

(*image correction: the retreat will be at the Hulbert Center*)

Hello Next Step alums and friends of Next Step! Apply to be a facilitator at this year's retreat! To apply, go to go.uvm.edu/nsfacilitator

If you have any questions, email Prithak Chowdhury at [email protected].

Our hearts are hurting. Take care of yourselves and each other, Next Step family.

Self Care For People of Color After Psychological Trauma   I love Black people. I love us so much. I have so many friends who work in the anti-racist space. I worry for our…

This great article has us thinking back to our conversations about race at this year's Next Step Retreat! It also echoes conversations about gender that our UVM Leadership & Civic Engagement had recently. Worth the read!
Shared by friend of Next Step and UVM faculty member Jackie Weinstock. Thanks Jackie!

6 Ways Well-Intentioned People Whitesplain Racism (And Why They Need to Stop) If you're white and these phrases are familiar, then you may have whitesplained. This info will help you recognize the most common ways whitesplaining happens – and learn how it's getting in the way of racial justice.

Say hi to Graham and Prithak at the LCE Table today!

Team LCE is tabling at the Winter involvement Fair in the Dudley H. Davis Student Center today until 2PM. We're in the atrium under the stairs- come say hi!

all our participant selection notifications went out yesterday. We are so excited to go on this journey with you all! Special shout out to our selection committee, who helped us thoughtfully choose our 56 participants. We'll see all you participants after break!

Come Stand in Solidarity with Mizzou - UVM Bored The march will meet outside of the Davis Center and march to Waterman building. Come show your support for the students in Mizzou who stood up for their civil rights …

Shared via some past NS Facilitators. What are you doing today to counter racist violence?

Want to come to Next Step this year? There's still time! Application deadline extended to this Friday. go.uvm.edu/nsparticipant for details!

Deadline extended! Didn't quite get your application to participate in UVM Next Step Retreat? No sweat! We've extended the application deadline to this Friday, November 13th at midnight. Go to: go.uvm.edu/nsparticipant to get your app in today!

Looking for some GREAT events? Check out Native American Indigenous Peoples' Heritage Month! Today from 7-9 in the Mt. Mansfield Room, check out the Native American and Indigenous Peoples' Heritage Celebration - and lots more great events!

Get your application in today! go.uvm.edu/nsparticipant.

Get your application in to participate in The Next Step Social Justice Retreat! Next Step is open to all UVM students interested in learning more about social justice, exploring their own stories and those of others, and of course hanging out with great people. Info and applications are available at go.uvm.edu/nsparticipant. Get your application in today - they're due on Friday by midnight!

Grace Lee Boggs, legendary activist and inspiration, passed away today at 100. Check out these quotes to learn more about her and help celebrate her legacy. Rest in Power, Grace Lee Boggs.

10 Quotes to Celebrate the Life of Revolutionary Activist Grace Lee Boggs Boggs died today at the age of 100. Get familiar.

Here's a great list of tips for white folks hoping to be allies to people of color.

Kenneth Pruitt, Director of Diversity Training, tackles an important question for white allies in addressing racial inequity.

Read more at http://dapstl.org/news/atticus-finch-and-our-mythological-whiteness/

Our Next Step L-Team, many facilitators and participants are enjoying the 10th Annual Dismantling R**e Culture Conference today. Whether you can attend or not, please feel free to join us afterwards, at 5PM in the Career + Experience Hub for connections & conversations. We'd love to see you!

Hey 2015 Next Steppers! Hope you are able to join us on Thursday, 4/9 @ 5pm in the Career + Experience Hub to re-unite and continue critical conversations we started in January.

Next Step Post Retreat Gathering Greetings 2015 Next Steppers! Following the Dismantling R**e Culture Conference on Thursday, April 9th, we will be hosting a gathering for Next Step participants and facilitators to come together. This will be a space for us to reconnect and continue conversations we started in January. We hope yo…

Interested in group leadership, introducing new students to life at UVM, and service and/or the outdoors? Come learn about becoming a TREK Leader at this information session - Thursday, March 12th at 5PM in the Livak Ballroom!

Interested in becoming a Service or Wilderness University of Vermont TREK Leader this summer? Come to the information session, Thursday 3/12 at 5PM in the Livak Ballroom!

In large part, the Next Step and its approach to social justice are about telling our stories. Stories remind us of our humanity and the radical dignity that belongs to each person - and they allow us to tie our experiences to others, and to make connections to the larger systems of privilege, oppression, and solidarity we all live in. The power of stories is one reason we love StoryCorps, and we're looking forward to hearing the interview with Yusor Abu-Salha, who was killed in NC earlier this week.

StoryCorps Story: “Hello, my name is Yusor Abu-Salha.” Last year, one of the victims of the tragic shooting in Chapel Hill, Yusor Abu-Salha (R), recorded a StoryCorps interview with Mussarut Jabeen (L), her 3rd grade teacher. Tune in to Morning Edition tomorrow to hear this interview—plus memories of Yusor and her husband, Deah Barakat, from Mussarut Ja…

If you loved Next Step, and are also involved in community service work, this program would be great for you! Come join for dialogue - tomorrow's topic is "serving and protecting."

Service Talks : Civic Engagement : Leadership & Civic Engagement : University of Vermont Service TALKS dialogue series Join us to talk about service! This dialogue series is for UVM student volunteers and volunteer leaders. Share and learn with fellow service-minded students about topics like identity and community, organizing and activism, power and privilege, impact and outcomes. Ques…

if you haven't seen this yet, check it out!

A University Recognizes a Third Gender: Neutral Rocko Gieselman goes by the pronoun “they.” Acknowledging the next step in identity politics, the University of Vermont has agreed to use it.

We're so excited for the 13th annual Next Step Retreat next weekend! To get ready, check out these great MLK celebration events next week: http://www.uvm.edu/~hrdma/mlk/

MLK Celebration : University of Vermont Download 2015 Poster Download MLK Calendar of Events MLK Celebration 2015 Please join us for our Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration, Education and Learning Events January 14 – January 30, 2015. MLK Birthday Party Wednesday, January 14, 2015 11:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Rosa Parks Room, Dudley H. Davi…

Just watching the goodness that is this 2011 TED Talk from Jay Smooth. Love as usual! So timely. We need to re-evaluate what makes a "good" person.

TEDxHampshireCollege - Jay Smooth - How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Discussing Race Jay Smooth is host of New York's longest running hip-hop radio show, the Underground Railroad on WBAI 99.5 FM in NY, and is an acclaimed commentator on polit...

We hope to see you tomorrow at Billings, North Lounge - at 12 noon for reflection and dialogue.

the UVM community will be gathering tomorrow at noon for dialogue and reflection about the recent grand jury proceedings in Ferguson, MO and Staten Island, NY, and the way forward for our society. Due to the snowstorm, we will be INDOORS at Billings, North Lounge. We hope you will join us!

Spent a little time today in the Next Step archives, and came across the mission statement (which we haven't used in several years) - it's especially timely and moving today.

"Based upon all the teachings which I hold true, I accept the following:
It is in my own best interest to help create
A world of compassion,
Justice and Equity
for all people.
It is my personal responsibility to work towards
A campus and greater community which foster
Mutual respect and
A safe environment
For all human beings.
I, therefore, commit
To continuously educate myself and
Actively work toward these goals
In my daily life and with others."

So much love!

Deadline Extension: Next Step Social Justice Retreat Participant Application is now due by NOON on Friday, Nov. 14!

Deadline Extension: Next Step 2015 Particpant Applications Due Friday Every January, the Next Step provides participants with a personal and collective experience in which to further develop their own knowledge and skills about their social identities.  During this intergroup dialogue retreat, participants learn how to become better change agents and activists against…