Ethos Newsletter Fall 2013
Editors-in-Chief:
President’s Corner: Looking Back, Moving Forward, and Happy New Year!
Tanekwah Hinds Tamar Davis
Greetings, As I type this letter, I can’t help but look back at the Fall 2013 semester with a smile and a great deal of pride. Not only did I enjoy my Core Executive Board: time as president but I got to know my fellow Ethos siblings in ways I never had before. President: Patrice Caldwell Being president isn’t easy. It’s a balancing act Vice President: Faith Fells to say the least. On one hand, I was taking the Treasurer: Kristin Williams hardest courses I’d taken yet, most for my Secretary: Sydney Cadiz major, and on the other hand, in addition to attending meetings with administrators and Senator: Ayana Aaron other cultural organization leaders, I had to Academic Excellence Chair: name and focus on a vision that would carry Arlevea Freeman Ethos forth for the 2013-2014 academic year and beyond. My focus was on two things: strengthening Content: our sibling bonds with each other and building solidarity between students President’s Corner ……….. 1 of color at Wellesley College.
Semester in Review ……… 2 In both regards, I believe we’ve laid the foundation for a strong Spring Looking to Next Semester... 6 semester. Stay in the Know ………… 7 Stay Connected to Ethos .. 10 Ethos welcomed in a huge first-year class, and I was happy to see many of
them actively participating in committees, attending siblinghood events, and of course, dancing in the Ethos First-Year Dance: Envy. In addition, 1 upperclass students aided first-years by mentoring them either as their P assigned big siblings or just as friends, making sure they had the resources they needed for a great first year. They were also great role models by 1 showing them how to balance academic excellence with a social life and by being active on committees and attending events and meetings. And, Ethos Members Only, our Google Group, continues to be a great way for members to connect with each other, reach out for help, or share a bit of humor. From our Ethos Meet & Greet to our Alumnae Brunch to our Ethos Gala Sleepover our events were very successful in bringing us together and allowing for members, present and past, to share in our rich history. As for the solidarity between students of color, for the first time since WAAM-SLAAM in 2001, Latin@ students and students of African and Asian descent came together for the first, hopefully annual, Tri-Cultural 1
Brunch. We ate foods from our cultures and others, completed some fun icebreakers, and discussed the changes we’d like to see in the upcoming years. In addition, many members from College Government, cultural, and non-cultural orgs participated in a lively discussion during our end of the year Ethos Open Meeting on Cultural Appropriation, hosted by Ethos’ Political Action Committee. Not to mention, the great mixers we had with Boston area black student organizations as a way of reaching beyond Wellesley and strengthening ties within the black community. The collaborative work we did this semester won’t solve all our problems, but it’s time we start seeing our fates as linked. Yes, we all have our differences but those differences should not pit us against each other. They should unite us in intersectional solidarity. As for the upcoming year, we have many great events. Among them, the first annual Black Excellence Gala, open to members, black faculty and staff, and Ethos alums. It will take place in Alumnae Ballroom on Saturday, February 8, 2013. In addition, there will be many other amazing events during Black History Month as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1864 Civil Rights Act and Quintessence Day. Outside of Ethos, we look forward to celebrating Latina Month, Asian Awareness Month, Marathon Monday, and many other exciting events with our siblings. Thank you for a wonderful semester. I look forward to many amazing things in the future. Best Wishes and Happy New Year! Sincerely, Patrice Caldwell ’15 President
Semester in Review Ethos Flower Sunday As Ethos Co-Sisterhood Chairs, we were excited to plan Flower Sunday this past September. Flower Sunday is an Ethos tradition where incoming first-years are matched with an older Ethos member as a way to facilitate a smoother transition into life at Wellesley. We offered refreshments at the event and announced the big and little sibling pairs. It was a really nice time early on in the semester for first-years to connect with fellow Wellesley students who already have experience at the college and can answer questions as well as help them navigate Wellesley both academically and socially. These pairings can also bring about lifelong friendships that can make improve one’s time at Wellesley.
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For next semester, we are planning an overnight sisterhood retreat which would be like a traditional retreat where Ethos members have a chance to come together and spend time with other members that they may not interact with on a regular basis. We believe that an overnight retreat will allow for better bonding between members, deeper conversations beyond the traditional three-hour setting, and a chance to be off of Wellesley’s campus. Rachel Fletcher-Slater and Chrishanae Neal ’16 Co-Sisterhood Chairs
Bentley. Like the first years said during their dance, Ethos does it well! Rachel Fletcher-Slater and Chrishanae Neal ’16 Co-Sisterhood Chairs
Ethos in Community Service As my first time holding a leadership position in Ethos, being community service chair has been a very new, rewarding experience. I think Boston provides great opportunities to be directly involved in community service as a place to escape the comforts of Wellesley College and to serve and help those in need. For the fall semester, Ethos participated in two events: food service at the Pine Street Inn homeless shelter in South Boston in October, and a food drive benefitting the Greater Boston Food Bank in December on campus. On the early Saturday morning of the Pine Street Inn event, six Ethos members traveled to Boston and were involved in preparing lunch to serve over 200 people that day. There were lots of laughs and smiles as we chopped onions and cucumbers. Pine Street Inn is an incredible organization which serves over 2,000 Bostonians daily with hot meals, housing, clothing, and job training and placement. I look forward to planning more events with organizations like this in the spring. In addition to planning more events within the Boston community next semester, in April, I plan to host an activity in partnership with the Big Sister Association of Greater Boston. Ethos members will serve as mentors for a day to the younger girls from the Boston area through fun activities. Geralle Powell ’16 Community Service Chair
Ethos Does It Well Congratulations to the first years! You guys did it! Your dance was spectacular and we're so very proud to have you as part of the Ethos family. We want to thank you for your hard work and dedication in preparing the dance, attending practices, and going the extra mile to make sure that you all looked as great as you did. We also want to commend you on your team work and we hope that you've appreciated the experience as well as that you've gotten to know some of your classmates better. And to the first years who didn't dance, we also want to extend our thanks to you for showing up to support your fellow classmates. We look forward to sharing more experiences with you all! We would also like to thank all of the Ethos members who supported ENVY, forming the circle for the first year dance and enjoying the party with other Ethos siblings as DJ Blaq Label played the hits. Other attendants of ENVY included many students from Wellesley College as well as colleges in the Boston area, such as Framingham State, Brandeis, MIT, Bentley, Harvard, Tufts, Berkeley, Babson, and
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Discover Wellesley Meeting
students. I will be sending out more information closer to the date about hosting black prospective students. Through these events and activities, I hope that we can help increase the representation of students of African descent on campus. Jordan Stephens-Moseley ’16 ALANA/Admissions Representative
Every year, Wellesley College Admissions hosts Discover Wellesley Weekend in the fall to introduce high school seniors to the campus with tours, information sessions, and classroom visits. The prospective students are also paired up with hostesses who help guide them through their schedules and answer their questions. Like past years, we invited prospective students of African descent to join us in Harambee House. During the Discover Wellesley Meeting, on October 20th, we had a representative from each student organization under Harambee House introduce themselves, their history, and their membership. After our introductions, we split the prospective students and the members into small groups and played a few games, such as two truths and a lie, for them to get to know each other. At the end, we came back together and had the perspective students ask members questions about Wellesley and our experiences as black students on campus. For next semester, I am planning a Q&A panel with a member from the admissions office to answer the questions of Ethos members. I am also in talks with the admissions representatives from other cultural organizations on campus, such as Mezcla, to arrange a way to contact prospective students who come to Spring Open Campus prior to their arrival so that they know at least one person on campus. Like previous years, Spring Open Campus will be held in April for admitted students to visit the campus before they make their college decisions and Harambee House organizations will host a meeting for admitted black
Connecting with Alums and Social Media This past November, the Academic Excellence Chair, Arlevea Freeman ’15, my committee, and I hosted the Ethos Alumnae Panel sponsored by the Alumnae Office and the Center for Work and Service (CWS) in Harambee House. We invited alums in the area and current Ethos students to listen to the advice of Ruth-Arlene Howe ’55, JudyAnn Bigby ’73, Benita Perkins ’80, Gail Rock Townsend ’04, Jenna Bond-Louden ’04 and Porsha Eden ’10. Each panelist had a different experience as a black student on campus. The panelists included Howe ’55, a Professor Emerita of Boston College Law School who attended Wellesley before the founding of Ethos with no more than 10 black students, and Porsha Eden ’10, one of the founders of Wellesley Women for Public Health who remembers the celebration in Harambee House on the night of Barack Obama’s 2008 election victory. As I moderated the panel, I could tell that each one of the alums appreciated their experience at Wellesley College despite the struggle of being a black student. I think Porsha Eden ’10 summarized it best when she said that “I’m a black woman, I’m from Wellesley, and I’m bound for greatness.”
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That same week, I ate lunch with Lorraine O’Grady ’55, a contemporary black feminist artist who gave a lecture last year and returned to campus for a gallery talk sponsored by Ethos. She is one of two black alumnae alive from the graduation year of 1955 along with Ruth-Arlene. If you wish to connect to other black alums from the network Wellesley Alumnae of African Descent (WAAD), like the group on Facebook, check out their December newsletter, and join the LinkedIn group once you have graduated. As Web Mistress, I started the year off creating and customizing a new WordPress site for Ethos. Along with our other forms of social media, Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr, the WordPress site is frequently updated with blogs, events, and photos. Tanekwah Hinds ’15 Historian/Web Mistress
serving as Ethos’ Political Action Chair. One of the tasks included in this position is to keep Ethos members informed and involved in political discourses on campus and nationwide. One of the highlights of this semester was “Let’s Talk About It,” our open meeting which was hosted by the Political Action Committee. “Let’s Talk About It,” a dialogue on cultural appropriation as it relates to politics, economics, popular culture, and artistic license, was intended to promote multicultural awareness. Committee members Imara McMillan, Jasmin Griggs, Jordan Conway, and I used a Prezi presentation to guide the meaningful discourse on the controversial topic. It was great to see members of the College Government Cabinet and members of other campus cultural and political organizations in attendance. I like to believe that it was a great learning experience for us all.
Treasurer’s Note
This spring, the Political Action Committee will be reviving Ethos’ Black History Month Poster Campaign which will go on throughout the month of February. This poster campaign will feature messages from the Ethos community designed to raise awareness on issues that impact people of African descent at Wellesley and nationwide. Another program to look forward to is the 2014 “Ethos in Action Series” where Ethos members will showcase pieces of black history to the Wellesley College Community. This is particularly important because the histories of people of color rarely take up mainstream space in dominant US society. We have a lot to look forward to in this New Year. Stay tuned!
This fall semester, Ethos sponsored its first candy apple sale fundraiser. We sold homemade candy, caramel, and chocolate apples as a tasty treat to the Wellesley community. Under the Kathleen Daly Chair Committee, we also held a phone-athon to reach out to local businesses for donations and program sales for the Black Excellence Gala. Proceeds from the Black Excellence Gala will go towards the Kathleen Daly Scholarships. This fundraiser is given in honor of the memory of Kathleen Daly, an Ethos alumna from the class of 1980 who promoted Ethos sisterhood and passed away from an asthma attack during her senior year. Kristin Williams ’16 Treasurer
Kanda Faye ’15 Political Action Chair
Ethos in Action and Activism Happy New Year! I’m Kanda Faye, Class of 2015. Last semester, I had the pleasure of 5
Looking to Next Semester Quintessence Day: Joan Morgan UPCOMING EVENTS February: Black History Month Poster Campaign
Ethos in Action Series February 8: Black
Excellence Gala: Awakening History February 25: Quintessence Day with speaker Joan Morgan
April: Community Service: Ethos and Big Sister Association of Greater Boston Ethos Elections College Government Elections Spring Open Campus Meeting
Quintessence Day is an Ethos lecture event that celebrates someone who embodies black womanhood in the most positive ways. In the past, we have invited strong, motivated, successful black women, such as Nikki Giovanni, Angela Davis, MC Lyte, and Issa Rae, to encourage, inspire, and inform students at Wellesley. This year, we are bringing Joan Morgan, an accomplished journalist from New York who is well-known for her book When Chicken Heads Come Home to Roost. In this book, she articulates black feminist thought and provocative cultural critique. Last year, fourteen years after the publication of When Chicken Heads Come Home to Roost, the book made buzzfeed’s list “13 Must Reads for the Black Feminist in Training.” Furthermore, Morgan is known for coining the term Hip Hop feminism. We are happy to be inviting Joan Morgan to speak for Quintessence Day on February 25, 2014 in the Pendleton Atrium 7-9pm.
May: Ethos Woman Magazine Launch Party
Stay tuned for more events.
Courtney Jackson ’15 Quintessence Day/Lecture Chair
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It's Time We Awaken History Greetings All, The Black Excellence Gala will take you back to the Harlem Renaissance starting with the cocktail hour. From 6-7pm, we will be hosting a 1920s inspired cocktail hour and silent auction in Punch's alley. Proceeds from the auction will go to the Kathleen Daly scholarship fund. Ethos awards three $1,000 scholarships to students, who demonstrate commitment to serving the community of African descent, in memory of Kathleen Daly. Kathleen Daly is an Ethos sister from the class of 1980 who promoted sisterhood in our organization. Unfortunately, she passed away from an asthma attack during her senior year. Kathleen's contribution to the Ethos sisterhood and solidarity is why we are proud to annually award scholarships in her memory. We will move from Punch's Alley to the Alumnae Ballroom for the dinner. There will be live jazz music by the amazing Lance Houston Quintet and a ceremony during an extravagant dinner. We are thrilled to have the extraordinary Pamm McNeil ’82, the President of WAAD (Wellesley Alumnae of African Descent), as our host! During the ceremony portion of the dinner, we will give the Kathleen Daly scholarships in addition to honoring members of our community We are excited to commemorate black achievement at Wellesley College and in broader society. Tickets are limited, so please make sure to get yours today. Tickets are free for current Ethos members (you should have received a Paperless Post invitation). Tickets are only $55 for Wellesley alums, and $65 for the general public. You can purchase your tickets on the following Eventbrite page: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/ethos-black-excellencegala-awakening-history-tickets-8986383515. Gabrielle Jones ’13 Kathleen Daly Chair
Stay in the Know Updates from College Government
This has been a great year to be part of Ethos and College Government. Both organizations had a productive semester filled with events that not only fostered community, but also brought to light a number of on-campus issues. As Ethos’ representative in college government, I was tasked with the job of voicing the opinions of Ethos in weekly College Government meetings and bringing back the information that I learned in Senate to my Ethos constituents via Senate meeting minutes. Below is a list of some of the accomplishments of College Government this semester and some of the goals for next semester:
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Fall 2013 Accomplishments The establishment of an Ad-Hoc committee to investigate Multicultural storage space on campus The establishment of an Ad-Hoc committee to investigate student-run mental health organizations Discussion of the potential risks and rewards of divesting in fossil fuels with both the Wellesley administration and Fossil Free Wellesley Discussion of the implications on students and college finances in regards to 2025 Survey of the issues of on-campus student employment Spring 2014 Goals A CG run Town Hall discussion aimed at students to discuss 2025 A CG organization/structure chart Discussion of the on-campus spam policy An Ad-Hoc committee exploring campus safety The continued discussion of all things in the fall Elections for the 2014-2015 CG cabinet Ayana Aaron ’15 Ethos Senator
Information on blackOUT blackOUT is an anonymous support group for lesbian, bisexual, gay, trans*, queer, and questioning (LBGTQ) students of African descent. The asterisk is included to honor students who may not consider themselves transgender, but identify as gender nonconforming. The group meets weekly every Sunday at 4pm at a location disclosed to those that identify as LBGTQ and have emailed blackout@wellesley.edu. For many students this is the only community on campus in which they can be their full selves and it is for that reason that this group remains closed to allies. For an hour, blackOUT members meet together to laugh, reference LBGTQ language and culture without explanation, talk about struggles and triumphs with friends and family, and any other things that come to mind. The term member is used not because blackOUT has a membership policy, but to emphasize that we are a community first and foremost. Next semester blackOUT will join FAMILIA and Tea Talks to build a network on campus of LBGTQ students of color. FAMILIA serves Latin@ students and Tea Talks serves students of Asian descent. The coalition is called Q-Mafia, and the first event was a holiday potluck dinner. Biweekly meetings and other events will follow, such as a panel on being a queer person of color abroad. It is the mission of Q-Mafia to not dismiss the individual concerns of each community, but to better represent the common intersection of race and sexuality and be a cohesive and powerful voice for queer students of color on campus. Even more importantly, it is an opportunity to create a bigger family of support. Dafina Bobo ’15 blackOUT Chair
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Looking for an Internship? Some of the best tips to find an internship can be found on the CWS website. Just take a few minutes to browse the site. Here are some tips and links in looking for an internship from the CWS Start with a crash course in interning: Internships 101 Check out the internship programs administered by the CWS Explore internship programs administered through the College’s other departments Search online resources for finding an external internship that’s tailor-made for you: Entry Point! AAAS internship opportunities for students with disabilities Federal Government Summer Internships and Jobs Idealist.org Global Twitter Recruiting College Job Bank NACE Job Choices Online Simply Hired Monster.com College Recruiter Indeed.com The Higher Education Recruiting Consortium Remember to look at the CWS’ Recruiting Program which includes information about recruiting on campus, the Principles for Professional Conduct for Employer Professionals, which includes the guidelines companies agree to, for your safety, convenience, and their dedication, in order to recruit on campus. Are you looking for internships not promoted by Wellesley College? Here are a few tips to enhance your search: NETWORK. Here is a link to an in depth look at this important task: http://www.wellesley.edu/cws/career/strategies/networking Talk to your parents and family members. Tell them about your dream internship or at least what you are interested in. You never know who they know and could recommend you for elite internships in the field of your choice! Were you in any programs in high school or are currently in a scholarship program like Questbridge or Ron Brown CAPtains or Scholars? Reconnect to the administration; these programs have corporate/noncorporate sponsors who probably have internship opportunities they would like to extend to students in the sponsored program. Remember to stay positive and passionate while conveying your internship search interest. Cold calls to the HR department of your desired firm are only helpful if you have done your research! So explore their website in great detail. If all of your questions can be answered online, there is no need to call HR. Look on LinkedIn to find an alumna in the firm and extend an offer for tea or coffee instead in an effort to learn about their firm, role, and reasons for staying at the firm. Go through the Tanner booklet and see if any internships appeal to you. If you find the name(s) of the student presenter(s), contact them and politely ask about their experience over lunch or dinner. The best thing you can do as you start the new semester as well as search for an internship, job, or volunteer opportunity is to stay pleasant to others and positive. Arlevea Freeman ’15 Academic Excellence Chair 9
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