Bennington Reflect, Rebuild, & Rise Conference Goes Virtual
Through the end of spring term, Bennington College students, faculty, and staff are invited to participate in a virtual Reflect, Rebuild, & Rise: Social Practice of Inclusion Conference.
Update: May 11, 2020
The Reflect, Rebuild, Rise: Social Practices of Inclusion Conference will be held online through the end of term. Follow the conference on Instagram, and participate by watching weekly videos from student Community Builders on diversity.bennington.edu or Youtube.
Bennington students, faculty, and staff are invited to share their session reflections by using the Google survey link in each video’s description.
This conference has been organized by two Bennington seniors, Deja' Haley '20 and Ahmad Yassir '20, with support from the Office of Diversity and Inclusion under the leadership of Delia Saenz, Vice President for Institutional Inclusion, Equity, and Leadership Development.
Presented in a new remote format, the 3R Conference also features senior work that further the work of diversity and inclusion within the fields of Advancement of Public Action and Drama.
Director Kaiya Kirk '20 and playwright Edie Salas-Miller '20 have been collaborating on the play Grandpa Dave as part of the Bennington Plays Festival. Notably, this production will feature a creative team composed entirely of students of color.
Grandpa Dave will premiere on the College's Youtube at 7:00 pm on Friday, May 15. For a behind-the-scenes look at the production, see Kirk's Works in Progress 3R workshop.
Update: March 18, 2020
Due to the rapidly evolving situation regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19), conference sessions will be transitioning to online delivery; keep an eye on the Event Calendar for details.
Additionally, as part of the College's policy to limit visitors during this time, guest speaker Emily Bernard will not be joining us for this event. For more information, please see the Coronavirus webpage.
On March 19, Bennington College students, faculty, and staff are invited to participate in Reflect, Rebuild, & Rise: Social Practice of Inclusion Conference.
This first annual event is the culmination of creativity, advanced work, and collaboration on the part of members of the Bennington College Community Builders (BCCB), a student group committed to creating a more diverse and inclusive community within Bennington College.
The conference is organized by Deja’ Haley ’20, Santiago Torres ’21, and Ahmad Yassir ’20, who are currently interning for the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, under the leadership of Delia Saenz, Vice President for Institutional Inclusion, Equity, and Leadership Development.
"Bennington College is more diverse than ever," said Deja' Haley and Ahmad Yassir. "Therefore, this student-led initiative aims to collaborate with the institution on making the community, as a whole, have a better experience in and outside of the classroom."
The conference begins with an afternoon series of Diversity workshops, exhibits, and discussions led by members of the BCCB, which will be held in Commons Atrium from 2:00 - 6:00 pm. Pre-registration for these sessions is encouraged and can be done by visiting diversity.bennington.edu.
The Reflect, Rebuild, & Rise conference provides an opportunity for students, faculty, and staff to learn about experiences with bias and exclusion on campus, as well as to generate ideas for advancing inclusivity.
Concurrent sessions and keynote address ask all participants to reflect on the student experience and each person’s responsibility to acknowledge and understand bias and exclusion; rebuild the community into a model of inclusion–in practice, in scholarship, in creativity, in its demographic composition, in the equitable support of all College members; and rise to the challenge of epitomizing Bennington’s original objective: to provide access to those who are otherwise excluded from higher education.
About the Bennington College Community Builders (BCCB)
Both as individuals and as members of distinct and intersecting identity groups, BCCB has experienced first-hand the challenges and frustration of exclusion and bias. At times, BCCB has witnessed expressed commitment to diversity and inclusion but rarely have these words yielded sustainable change. BCCB firmly believes that creating a more diverse and inclusive community is important for the well-being of the student body and the success of the College as a whole.
The Bennington College Community Builders include Jullian Androkae ’23, Alex Briseno ’20, Rojay Bryan ’22, India Carter-Bolick ’23, Andreea Coscai ’22, Deja’ Haley ’20, Hannah Gray ’21, Clair Webb ‘20, Kaiya Kirk ’20, Marley-Rose Liburd ’22, Suzie Rejali ’21, Phoenix Stoddard ’21, Santiago Torres ’21, and Ahmad Yassir ’20.