On the heels of a very happy (and warm!) Family Weekend, Wake Forest is leading into another event.  This one is called the Dignity and Respect Campaign, and it is both important and timely.

The Office of Diversity and Inclusion sent the email below to faculty and staff (not sure if students got it or will get a student oriented version).  The essential theme of this is to have members of the campus community pledge to treat others with dignity and respect.  Not a complicated thing at all, but very crucial.

A few weeks ago, someone etched some ugly and disheartening graffiti on a sign outside the LGBTQ Center, and there were a couple of other incidents on campus where people said or did things that were not welcoming to all members of our community.

This is the Daily Deac editorializing for a moment, but the fact that Wake Forest is such a tremendous place is because we have great people who are committed to a civil and respectful community.  The minute we stop feeling like a place that is warm and welcoming, we risk losing the special spirit that is Wake Forest, that is about kindness and honor and Pro Humanitate.

Happily, the ability to be the kind of community we want to be rests within each of us, every day, making ethical decisions and doing the right thing.  We can be the best Wake Forest we can be if we all pledge to do so and if we challenge unkind speech or acts when seen or heard.

dignity and respectSo first thing this morning I took the Dignity and Respect pledge, which simply says “I will treat everyone with dignity and respect,” and I am printing out a copy of the calendar of suggested activities.

I would challenge all our Daily Deac readers to take the pledge as well.  Email it to your students and ask them to take it too if you feel moved to do so.

Whether you live near campus, work at WFU, or are from far away, we can all be a force for good every day if we want to.

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During the month of October, the Office of Diversity & Inclusion invites you and each member of our community to join us in celebrating the Dignity and Respect Campaign in order to promote inclusion through behavioral and organizational change.  Daily in October we will practice the 30 Tips of Dignity and Respect established by the Center for Inclusion at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

You can get involved immediately in the following ways:

·         Watch a short message about Dignity & Respect from Dr. Maya Angelou;

·         Click here to take the Dignity & Respect Pledge;

·         Practice each tip each day;

·         Visit our table outside of the Pit on Monday, October 7 between 11am -2pm

·         Share this message and encourage others to join you in taking the pledge;

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