Environmental Education: Holding Space for Queerness

By Henry McKenna, Environmental Studies '25.

Environmental education has long provided spaces for personal growth and identity exploration, particularly in residential summer camps. On February 25, 2025, Alexandra Walls and Dr. Michael Mikulewicz presented ‘Queering Camp’ during a combined Science Corps Workshop and Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions Speaker Series event. This presentation explored the role of summer camps and outdoor learning programs in supporting queer youth and fostering inclusive environmental education spaces.

"I prefer to be a realist," said Walls, in reference to the current administration that is enforcing dangerous policies for the LGBTQ+ community. A former camper turned camp educator, Walls pointed out the lack of understanding on queerness in environmental education overnight camps. Walls gave an enlightening perspective on how to “queer
” your thinking, by changing things like housing in order to provide a more comforting experience for students and campers. 

Mikulewicz, an assistant professor of Environmental Studies at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF), uses queer theory and critical geography to examine the inequalities embedded in climate impacts and responses. Together, they challenged traditional frameworks in environmental education and advocated for spaces where all identities are affirmed. Mikulewicz defined gender and queerness brilliantly, while providing a digestible definitions to complex ideas.  He explained that the term “Queering” started “with heteronormism being questioned by theorists, scholars, activists, etcetera” but has come to mean “decentering anything from the norm” or the binaries upon which society is built. 

The concept of queer eco pedagogies involves questioning underlying assumptions in environmental education, overcoming harmful binaries, and being attentive to intersectionality.  Walls and Mikulewicz argue that these ideas and values are not at all limited to queer learners or teachers, but rather are universally applicable.

For more information on upcoming public ESF events, visit www.esf.edu.   

As part of the requirements for FOR 797, Perspective on Career and Gender students share responsibility of reporting on a subset of class discussions, including those that are part of the Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions Speaker Series (WiSE Professions).

YWCA’s Girls’ Summit held at ESF

72 5th-10th grade participants descended on campus to learn about a few STEM based careers during the YWCA Girls’ Summit on April 2.  Local alumnae, students and staff featured prominently in the hands-on portion of the day:

Dr. Kim Cargill (EFB 2004) with assistance of veterinary technician Carrie Curry (EFB 2014), and veterinary assistants/current ESF students Sarah Hoffman and Savannah Rutt,led participants through  Teddy Bear Surgery and Pet First Aid. 

Current ESF students Katherine Gannon; Julia Frank; Kathryn Resanovich,  Alexandria  Kirkpatrick of the Student Environmental Education Coalition (SEEC) led concurrent workshops on Building Urban Ecosystems

Chemical Engineering Staff E. Kelly Watson-Collins, Sean Hohm (PBE 2017-I think), and George Westby (Chemistry 2001, MS 2006), and students Autumn Elniski (PSE 2015, MS 2017, PhD Candidate), Will Contento, Nicole Byrnes, and Serena Brandt led perennial favorite Paper Making and Testing.

ESF students Shawna Mulvihil and Winnie Ne and staff members Heather Engelman (Dual 92, MS 1995), Maura Harling Stefl, Kelly Berger joined other community general volunteers and Group Guides that offered ice breakers, supervised small groups, and helped in other capacities during the day.  Engelman, Harling Stefl, Berger, Dr. Malika Carter and Dr. Lizette Rivera (representing ESF Women's Caucus, ESF in the High School and the Office of Inclusion, Diversity and Equity) collaborated with YWCA staff and colleagues at Syracuse University and LeMoyne College to plan the program.  

The mission of the program was to empower, motivate, educate, and change the perception of girls and women in STEAM.  The program was open to everyone, regardless of sex, gender or gender identity. 

Interviewing? John Turbeville shares tips

Dr. Turbeville, Senior Assistant Dean for Student Affairs and Director of Career Services at SUNY-ESF shared interviewing tips on Tuesday, March 29, 2022, as part of ESF's Perspectives on Career and Gender Spring Seminar Series.

Dr. Turbeville presented the services provided by Career Service at ESF along with interviewing statistics. I was amazed to find out that 90% of employers find social media important when evaluating candidates and 79% of HR professionals have denied a job to a candidate due to inappropriate content on social media. He also shared some common questions asked during an interview and ways to obtain success in an interview.

Dr. Turbeville completed his M.S. and Ph.D. from Syracuse University. He has more than fifteen years of higher education experience in the areas of academic support services, career services, educational programming, judicial affairs, and crisis management.

For more information about the Perspective on Career and Gender Seminar Series, please visit
http://www.esf.edu/womenscaucus and http://esfwomen.blogspot.com/search/label/Speakers. For upcoming public events and lectures, please visit ESF’s College Calendar at http://www.esf.edu/calendar.

As part of the course requirements for FOR797 Perspectives on Career and Gender, students share  responsibility of reporting on class discussions as well as on the speakers in the campus-wide Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions Speaker Series.  The preceding was prepared by Poonam Joshi, Department of Sustainable Forest Management, studying Master of Science in Natural Resources Management.

Girls’ Summit returns to ESF—recruiting volunteers and participants

Girls’ Inc is seeking adults for a variety of volunteer roles for the annual Girls’ Summit on Saturday, April 2 on the ESF and SU campuses.  In particular, they hope to recruit a solid cohort of volunteers familiar with the campuses to serve as “group guides”, accompanying a walking group through the program, assuring they find their scheduled workshops, and sharing their own excitement about STEAM. A perfect role for students and local alumni!  They need folks to sign up quickly to assure time for background checks. For more information or for help with registration, contact Wenona Timmons at 315-424-0040 or wtimmons@ywca-syracuse.org. 

Registration is also open for 5^th-10^th graders who wish to participate in the Girls’ Summit Hands-on STEAM Career Exploration Day on Saturday, April 2, 8:30-3:45pm. Drop off and pick up at ESF’s Gateway Center.  $5, pre-register at https://www.ywca-syracuse.org/what-were-doing/youth-development/girls-summit/.  For more information, contact Caitlyn Copfer, ccopfer@ywca-syracuse.org, or 315-424-0040.

BBFF: Creating a foundation for safer and more equitable fieldwork

Click to view recording

 Building a Better Fieldwork Future (BBFF) trainer Dr. Amanda Adams lead workshop participants through some sobering statistics (64% of field participants reported experiencing sexual harassment while in field, 22% reported physical harassment or assault, with women, racially marginalized groups, LGBTQIA+ people more likely to experience those in the field), and also shared easily implementable tools to prevent and respond to harassment and assault.

“Organizational climate is the single most important factor in determining whether sexual harassment is likely to happen in a work setting.” according to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Dr. Adams continues "Degrading jokes are really the most common form of harassment reported in the field, and there's been a rise in the level of harassment." When this continues to be repeated, and the severity increases, it can have a huge impact on not just the target, but on the whole group.   "One of least harmful [types of harassment] but because it so common, can have the biggest impact."

What makes field sites such a high risk environment for harassment and assault? Factors include:

• Sites can be isolated, with limited outside communication or ways to leave
• Graduate field training is loaded with power asymmetries and dependencies on leaders.
• Long hours, close working and sleeping quarters, blurry boundaries

The BBFF Workshop aims to prevent instances of harassment and assault through positive organizational climate, early training, comprehensive and accessible community agreements and field safety plans to facilitate conversations, have a clear course of action when problems arise, and empower team members to respond.   Participants worked through 4 scenarios, determining what when wrong, brainstorming ways to intervene or respond, and also considering what steps could have been put in place earlier to prevent the incident from happening or escalating. 

Safety plans should include communication plans, how to access copies of fleet keys and maps so that team members aren't reliant on a single individual for resources, and list whom to contact in the event of an emergency. At least two people should be designated to receive reports.  Documents should be accessible, not just on someone's hard drive or back on campus. If someone is incapacitated, at least two people should accompany them.   Daily group check-ins cultivate a culture of open, honest communication so that everyone feels its safe to communicate.

Make use of a Community Agreement, a collaboratively created agreement that includes items such as task sharing, privacy, roommate assignments, alcohol and drug use, and how to change work partners or sleeping quarters. Community Agreements ensure everyone is on the same page.  It can be verbally discussed and shared on a board, or through an electronic document.  It should be accessible by everyone, and regularly revisited. Regularly checking in on the community agreement with the entire group reminds folks of its existence without calling out any specific bad behaviors, and furthers normalization of conversation so that when issues do arise, team members are more prepared to address.

Participants were also briefed on the "5 Ds" of bystander intervention:  Direct, Distract, Delegate, Document, and/or Delay. Look for more comprehensive workshops for more information and opportunities to practice.

Dr. Amanda Adams is the Conservation Research Program Manager, Bat Conservation International and Lecturer in Biology at Texas A&M University.  She is a member of the first cohort of certified BBFF trainers.  

This was a presentation of ESF's Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions (WiSE Professions) and a collaboration of the ESF Women's Caucus, ESF Choose Action Network, UC Santa Cruz, Risk & Safety Training University of California Center, and the Center to Advance Mentored, Inquiry-Based Opportunities (CAMINO)@USCS.  Earlier in this year's series, BBFF Coordinator Melissa Cronin discussed the origins and growth of this program to increase field work safety and planning, and to make programs more equitable and welcoming.   A summary of "Scenario-Based Bystander Training to Prevent Sexual Harassment and Assault in Field Settings" written by PhD student Jenna Zukswert is available at http://esfwomen.blogspot.com/2021/04/building-better-fieldwork-future.html and includes a link to a full recording. For more information about WiSE Professions, please visit https://www.esf.edu/womenscaucus/speakers.htm, or contact Heather Engelman, engelman@esf.edu.  

Today! Building a Better Training Program for Field-Based Studies

WiSE Professions will feature Building a Better Fieldwork Future, in two independent but related sessions.   “Fieldwork is an essential component of training and research in many scientific disciplines. However, the imbalanced power structure of academia coupled with the remote and informal nature of field sites heightens risks of sexual harassment and assault during fieldwork, especially for women and other at-risk groups. Limited existing research suggests that incidents are widespread and insufficiently addressed by protocols developed for office and classroom settings.” 

Scenario-Based Bystander Training to Prevent Sexual Harassment and Assault in Field Settings. On March 31, 3:45-4:45 pm EST in conjunction with the Perspectives on Career and Gender graduate seminar, Melissa Cronin, University of California, Santa Cruz, will discuss the development, evolution and assessment of the 90-minute  workshop she, Roxanne Beltran and Erika Zavaleta  developed with support of the Thoreau Foundation and Center to Advance Mentored, Inquiry-based Opportunities (CAMINO).  The program has expanded to include 28 trainers at 8 other institutions.  

Workshop:  Building a Better Fieldwork Future: Preventing & Managing Sexual Harassment & Assault in the Field Science. On April 15, 7-8:30 pm EST (some seats still available),  certified trainer Dr. Amanda Adams, Conservation Research Program Manager, Bat Conservation International and Lecturer, Biology, Texas A&M University, will introduce “the unique risks posed by fieldwork and offer a suite of evidence-based tools to prevent, intervene in, and respond to sexual harassment and assault. A series of practical intervention scenarios, the workshop guides participants on how to be an active and engaged bystander, report incidents, and plan field settings to minimize risk. Armed with these tools, participants can play a role in ensuring that field settings are safer, more equitable, and more welcoming for the next generation of field scientists.“ 

 Full abstracts and Registration links for both are available at:  bit.ly/WiSEProfessions

WiSE Professions in STEM fields, and in the field.

Explore career path, and the critical importance of empowered bystanders in field-based education and research through the 2021 Women in Scientific Professions Speaker Series.  

On March 11,  ESF Women in STEM Fields, the ESF Alumni Association will celebrate Women's History Month with a career path panel discussion (1-2 pm EST, Join Session) featuring some of many recent alumnae working in STEM fields. Panelists include Aislinn Brackman '13 (Paper Engineering), Change Agent/Continuous Improvement Specialist, von Drehle Corporation; Olivia Liu '15 (Landscape Architecture), Assistant Landscape Architect, New York City Parks; Hilary Niver-Johnson '11 (Environmental Science), Proprietor, Sustainable Viticulture Systems; Emily Thiel '14 (Environmental Communications), Education and Outreach Coordinator, WNY Prism.   This session is a collaboration of the Alumni Association, Career Services, Admissions, and ESF Women's Caucus, for current ESF students and employees as well as for prospective and incoming students. 

WiSE Professions will then shift focus to those planning, training, and conducting field research with Building a Better Fieldwork Future, in two independent but related sessions.   “Fieldwork is an essential component of training and research in many scientific disciplines. However, the imbalanced power structure of academia coupled with the remote and informal nature of field sites heightens risks of sexual harassment and assault during fieldwork, especially for women and other at-risk groups. Limited existing research suggests that incidents are widespread and insufficiently addressed by protocols developed for office and classroom settings.” 

·        Scenario-Based Bystander Training to Prevent Sexual Harassment and Assault in Field Settings. On March 31, 3:45-4:45 pm EST (PLEASE REGISTER HERE), in conjunction with the Perspectives on Career and Gender graduate seminar, Melissa Cronin, University of California, Santa Cruz, will discuss the development and assessment of the 90-minute  workshop she, Roxanne Beltran and Erika Zavaleta  developed with support of the Thoreau Foundation and Center to Advance Mentored, Inquiry-based Opportunities (CAMINO).  The program has expanded to include 28 trainers at 8 other institutions.  

·        Workshop:  Building a Better Fieldwork Future: Preventing & Managing Sexual Harassment & Assault in the Field Science. On April 15, 7-8:30 pm EST (Please Register here; note space is limited),  certified trainer Dr. Amanda Adams, Conservation Research Program Manager, Bat Conservation International and Lecturer, Biology, Texas A&M University, will introduce “the unique risks posed by fieldwork and offer a suite of evidence-based tools to prevent, intervene in, and respond to sexual harassment and assault. A series of practical intervention scenarios, the workshop guides participants on how to be an active and engaged bystander, report incidents, and plan field settings to minimize risk. Armed with these tools, participants can play a role in ensuring that field settings are safer, more equitable, and more welcoming for the next generation of field scientists.  

This workshop will bookend a series that launched during the winter break with a screening of  Picture a Scientist, in which “(b)iologist Nancy Hopkins, chemist Raychelle Burks, and geologist Jane Willenbring lead viewers on a journey deep into their own experiences in the sciences, ranging from brutal harassment to years of subtle slights. Along the way, from cramped laboratories to spectacular field stations, we encounter scientific luminaries - including social scientists, neuroscientists, and psychologists - who provide new perspectives on how to make science itself more diverse, equitable, and open to all.” The screening culminated in a discussion January 21 with Dr. Mary Collins (Assistant Professor, Environmental Studies), Jennifer Keating (Project Coordinator, Choose Action Network); Nicole Williams '05 (Finance & Operations Director, Ocean Outcomes) and Rebecca Hoda-Kearse (Title IX/Affirmative Action Officer), moderated Dr. Malika Carter, Chief Diversity Officer.  Screening and panel were presented by the ESF Alumni Association in collaboration with the Office of Inclusion, Diversity and Equity; ESF Women's Caucus; and the Choose Action Network

The WiSE Professions Speaker Series is a program of the ESF Women’s Caucus, presented by the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry with the assistance of other groups and offices across campus.  For more information, contact Heather Engelman, engelman@esf.edu.  

Choose action!

Ever witnessed situations or heard statements that sent up hackles, but weren’t sure what to do or say to intervene or how to get help? The Choose Action Network will be conducting the next Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) Training for students over a 6 part workshop beginning NEXT THURSDAY (1/23/2020 during College Hour)! MVP is a renowned “gender violence, sexual harassment and bullying prevention program…[that teaches bystanders how] to challenge … social, cultural and institutional norms that support abusive behavior.”  Participants will have opportunities to practice responses AND gain a cohort of like-minded folks who share their concerns for a safer community.

We strongly encourage students to attend all the sessions.

This session is for students--please contact chooseaction@esf.edu to sign up!  For more information, contact Jennifer Keating at Jkeating@esf.edu.  Faculty and staff—let students know they have your support to participate, and stay tuned for announcement for a separate workshop just for you! 

Girls' Summit: Kids Day for the Community

For years, the most common request received regarding Kids Day was “Can you extend the age range?”  Unfortunately, our school/work days are constrained by room availability and class schedules.  It has also proven difficult to increase the number of groups, increase group sizes across the board and to increase the range of ages within a group.  Thus, when Girls Inc. approached a few years ago, we realized that there was another way to accomplish this, and simultaneously increase our reach.  We worked with Girls Inc, C-STEP, SU STEP and with support of individuals in student Affairs and Outreach to plan and execute the 3^rd Annual CNY Girls Summit STEAM Career Conference at ESF for area middle and high school girls on April 29, 2017. 

Of the eight workshops offered during the program, half had very close ESF ties. Alumna Ms. Tiffany Brookins-Little, now with Bristol Myers-Sqibb, steered participants though a fermentation exercise.  ESF SCIENCE staff led exercises in watershed modeling and with wind turbines.   In addition, our students delivered the keynote address (Madison Morely) and joined the College Preparation Panel (Alana Lindsey and Shewa Shwani) with moderator Mel Menon and students from Upstate Medical University, FM High School/ESF in the High School, and Le Moyne College.  They also served as “Group Guides,” along with students from other institutions and community members (all vetted as per the SUNY Child Protection Policy).  We changed the age-range slightly this year, to focus on grades that can build on their experience next year through SU STEP (or similar program that works with their home schools) and the ESF in the High School program.   

Post-workshop surveys indicated that participants left with a greater interest in science and math than when they arrived. They were introduced to new careers as well; 88% rated the topics as important to them, and 98% rated the overall program as interesting and the experience as good to excellent.  Despite the school-day length of the program, 20% of the suggestions called for more or longer sessions, saddened the schedule only allowed four workshops each.

Disability Support Services Panel

Disability Support Services Panel

 Tuesday, March 28^th, 2017 at 4:30pm-5:30pm in 110 Moon Library

(Class project of facilitators Amelia Hoffman and Lisa--thank you very much for sharing with campus!)

·      Mary Triano, Assistant Dean for Student Affairs (Student Support) at ESF

·       Paula Possenti-Perez, Director of Office of Disability Services at Syracuse University

·       Bethany Heaton-Crawford, Assistant Director & Counselor of Office of Disability Support Services at Syracuse University

·       Melissa Stevens & Morgan Harrington, from Elmcrest Special Education Center

Abstract:The panel will engage in discussion about trends in students coming to college, common barriers experienced by students, and about different types of disabilities. The goal is to continue to build awareness about the complexity and diversity that exists within the community and discuss case studies that highlight areas where faculty and staff can engage in eliminate barriers and act as advocates and empower  their students.  We welcome all!

Question posed by facilitators:   Why are IEP, 504 plans (primary and secondary school plans) important?  Documentation of a disability or pre-conditions.  College students are bright; they may have been able to accommodate on their own prior to the more rigorous higher ed curriculum.  Accommodations may change as workload and available technology change.  Terminology also changes with private and public institutions.  About access to the educational environment.  Work with student to create an “Access plan.” In terms of success and satisfaction, navigating the system can create a lot of stress, especially on top of the courseload.  Stigma of disability and fear of faculty response may lead students to choose not to disclose.  In an inclusive environment:  One is disabled by limited access.

In preschool classrooms, it takes a good month to lay groundwork, and several months to see results of accommodations.  

Disability is socially constructed to be not-normal.  In our culture, need to be brave to disclose.  Need to stick out and fail prior to receiving services.  Each transition has a barrier as well, may no longer qualify as move to next aged program.  Intentionality of language can change that.  Accumulated microaggressions reinforce the negative, and it’s internalized.  Accommodation is different and hard word, but it makes a difference.

Universal design—shift in pedagogy and multi-modal design can benefit all students, not just the ones who requires an accommodation.  Eg, closed captioning—everyone can read along, not just the hearing impaired.

Questions from audience:

Beyond the syllabus addition regarding accommodation, what can faculty do to increase their confidence in carrying out those conversations?  Statement asks students to identify elements that might be problematic.  Leave different means to engage students.  Language matters!  Go through syllabus to identify.  Admit—I am not an expert.  I rely on you to let me know what works, and we can figure it out together.  What if a faculty member suspects a disability but it has not been disclosed?  Ask, you seem engaged, but your test grades aren’t reflecting that. Talk to me about the gap. 

What are some common barriers experienced by students?  “I want to try it without”—we want to be respectful of that, but also talk them through because there is a reason(physical, neurological, chemical, whatever) why student is in their office.  Students are also not always aware of all the accommodations available to them; faculty, too.  Answer is:  let’s ask!  Accommodation often requires timeliness and faculty cooperation—like notetaking, alternate format.  Publishers won’t release information without proof of purchase.  Physical construct of classroom can be a barrier—how building or lab is designed. 

Working on an accessibility map so paths are clearer.  Solutions may be moving classrooms, or changing schedules.

Many students have said that they have difficulty disclosing invisible disabilities—what tools might make this easier?  Disability Center can role play that conversation; help them develop a script.  Communicate first electronically.  Each student has a counselor that can act as a liaison.  They would like to work more with faculty and help them understand that there is leadership there to support them so that it is not a “burden.” This is what we can do to help you support ALL students.  Counselor may email, copy student, staying “… will be coming to talk with you.”  How much they have to disclose is a big black hole—students can feel like they need to disclose whole history, or faculty may fear that they know need to be an export on that concern.  Many faculty don’t want that level of detail—they want to know what they can do to help.  How can they know when student is struggling or not?  What conditions will help student learn best?  Sometimes parents haven’t allowed their child to be involved with that conversation through high school because they want to shield child from the stigma, from the difficulty in obtaining their service, etc.  Mindset factor:  “I’m no good at this” but its cognitive distortion due to ineffective strategies.  Tutoring differs between high school and college; there is now expectation that they will have tried to read the chapter prior to session.

What are the percentages of ESF students receiving services?  How does that compare to other places?  Implications to things that are coming through the ranks?  Nationally, about 11%; SU 7%, ESF ~6% (self-reported).  All averages are going up, more students on autism spectrum (esp at STEM schools) because of early interventions.  Technology has come a long way.  Assistive technology isn’t utilized in k-12, which means new students have to learn to use while trying to learn everything else.  Read and Write can be used by all students, so everyone learning together.  At SU, will be getting a lot more veterans.  The more they become savvy about self and benefits of diversity…

What to say? A toolbox for confronting oppresive language

What do you do when your jaw sort of drops, and you don’t know what to say? Professor of Inclusive Education, Syracuse  University, Mara Sapon-Shevin, shared her thoughts on and strategies for responding to oppressive comments--and gave us a chance to practice using those technique
Each of us has multiple identities, with a race (or more than one), class, gender, sexuality, ethnicity (ethnicicities), language(s), religion(s), abilities/disabilities, etc.  We need to get SMARTER about differences, about oppression, and about what it means to be an ally.

“Color blind” as not noticing differences is an odd construct.  If someone said  “I can’t tell a tree, from shrub, from a…I’m nature blind” we’d feel sorry for them.  Not noticing things that are important to the other party—why isn’t that also the case?

When we (the group) discussed our identities with others here today, we realized that those at different parts of spectrum can feel similar isolation--but also learn more about other points of view that are not relatable from positions of privilege.  We can empathize when identities are difficult to balance, or are both a source of pride and frustration, when identities we see as “+”,are not viewed that way universally.  Some categories are fixed, but others were not, and some more fluid -- disability/ability for instance .  Disability studies may refer to the “TAB” (temporarily able-bodied), as age or injury will catch up with most of us.  If we keep those in mind, what would be designed differently?
How do we respond to differences?  The general tendency is exclusion, mockery, scorn, marginalization.  But, what if, rather than “that’s weird”…the response is "I wonder what life is like for that kid?  Why do you wear that?  I’ve never seen that food before.  How do you celebrate that holiday?" 
What about noticing how people are mis/treated because of their differences?  Racism, sexism, homophobia, classism, religious oppression.  Are there areas where you are good at noticing, but holes in others?  (Hard to know what you don’t notice… a prior workshop:  how many have experienced sexism?  No hands raised.  Not even someone yelling on the street “Hey, nice t!1s?” Well, yes, but that’s normal.)  We can notice, or we can turn away. 

“What would you do?  Muslims in America”  

Two actors:  customer in hajib, racist bakery owner refusing to serve her.  Do real customers intervene?  6 praise owner; 13 side with customer and opt not to place orders; a few stand ground and argue, requesting to speak with manager.  Both sides convinced their reaction is patriotic.  But 22 people said or did nothing—which is most frightening to the real Muslim college student whose experiences inspired the experiment, and watched with the camera crew.

Allyship is a process, and everyone has more to learn.  Allyship involves a lot of listening.  Sometimes, people say “doing ally work” or “acting in solidarity with” to reference the fact that “ally” is not an identity, certainly not one bestowed upon oneself

Allies—acting powerfully in the moment.  Addressing structural inequities and oppression for the long haul.

Think about times you either interrupted Oppressive Behavior, or did not.  Sometimes it’s a decision not to respond.  Sometimes it’s because didn’t realize what had happened.   What made it possible to respond?  had a strategy, had a story, had information, a relationship with the offender, power (could be easier to call out my students than dean), boiling point (emotion), body language, an identity that isn’t mine, argument won’t matter (but now my kids are at the table).  What made it difficult? a relationship with the offender, no power, shock/disbelief, ideology, emotion, safety (fear), moral relativity (is it an issue?), an identity that isn’t mine, argument won’t matter, didn’t know what to say, would oppressed want intervention…. will I say it correctly?

Need relationships to ask—What would be supportive in this environment?   Examples:  If a colleague’s idea's are dismissed at staff meetings—ask privately if the next time, would it would be beneficial if you responded “Wait, that’s a great idea!  I want to hear more”? 

Dr. Sapon-Shevin then distributed (drumroll, please!) the STRATEGIES FOR CHALLENGING OPPRESSION that she developed with Robin Smith.  These are intended for interpersonal relationships (that you'd like to preserve), not street harassment.  "The point is to have a BIG TOOLBOX ---- different things will work in different settings, contexts, etc." 

Before any of the responses can be used, you need to "notice what’s going on with you so can think of a strategy ---get centered –get grounded – be calm so that you can think more clearly.  Begin with three slow, deep breaths.  Notice what you’re feeling in your body as well as your thoughts."  You can ask for clarification, which can let someone rephrase appropriately---and also gains you a few moments to get your thoughts in order to calmly give accurate information, make a connection, ask more questions, counter with personal experiences, and if none of these work:  "Stop. I won't listen to this."

She also notes that "No one EVER does this perfectly—the important thing is to keep practicing, and keep trying!"  We look forward to more sessions to roleplay and to bring Dr. Sapon-Shevin back to work with even more of our colleagues! 

This workshop was a collaboration of the ESF Women's Caucus, Committee on Inclusion, Diversity and Equity, and the Office of Student Diversity and Inclusion.

Girls' Summit introduces ESF careers to community teens

CNY Girls Summit STEAM Career Conference for area middle and high schoolers returned to ESF on May 7.

Of the eight workshops offered during the program, half had very close ESF ties. Dr. Biljana Bujanovic’s team helped participants make paper, tested strength of commercial paper, and led facility tours.  Dr. Whitney Lash Marshall facilitated a systems thinking exercise, while Ms. Linda McGuigan guided participants through extracting DNA from strawberries and discussed the Chestnut project.  Alumna Ms. Kritika Thapa, now with EA Engineering, challenged groups through a water filtration exercise.  In addition, first year student Jet’aime “Jet” Lewis joined a College Preparation Panel with moderator Mel Menon,  of On Point for College, and students from Upstate Medical University, SU, OCC, and LeMoyne College.

Post-workshop surveys of the 90+ participants indicated that participants were indeed introduced to new careers and left with a greater interest in science and math than when they arrived.  Paper making and DNA extraction were clear favorites of the participants, with water filtration not far behind.

The 2016 program was a collaboration of the Girls' Inc/YWCA (Girls' Inc Specialist  Flavia Rey de Castro and interns Gina Ricci and Hannah Cash, both OCC students); ESF (Women's Caucus program coordinator, Heather Engelman: Interim Chief Diversity Officer Anne Lombard,  Maura Stefl of Outreach, and Eileen Baldesarre of C-STEP), and SU (Tanaya Thomas-Edwards, STEP).