Why I do what I do
In this Issue: today I talk a little bit about why I post some of the things I do
I am out of the office today at my ’27 Wolfpack’s Orientation, so this is a pre-post
In the Daily Deac and on our official Wake Parents and Families Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/WFUParents), I try to remember to include mentions of religious holidays, national observances, and other cultural touchpoints. Occasionally someone will ask me why I am acknowledging certain religious holidays (particularly if they represent a small minority of our student population), or why I am mentioning Memorial Day, or Pride Month, etc. So today I wanted to share some thoughts on that question.
When students come to college, this will be their home for the next several years. And we want it to feel like home. One way to make it feel like home is to recognize the important parts of our students’ identity: for example, in the Benson Center atrium is the national flag of every country that our students come from, so our international students have a place to go to see their flag (and maybe feel a little less homesick). Or when we decorate for the winter holidays, you will see Christmas trees and a Menorah, so our students can see some of their culture represented. Ditto to when our Chaplain’s office hosts Ramadan events. You get the idea.
Those are the things we do for students (and there are many others – this is just a sampling). Since parents and families are not on campus every day, you don’t get to see those things that help your students feel seen and affirmed. For my part, via your email inbox, I can name those religious holidays, or mention a month that honors a particular heritage, or Juneteenth, etc. so you know we are acknowledging them.
While I represent Wake Forest as an administrator, before anything else I am a mom. And as a mom, when I think of my own son about to start his own college career about 95 miles east of here, I want to know that at his school he is seen, understood, valued, and affirmed for who he is.
My commitment to your students (and by extension, you as parents and families) – is that if they come to me, they can be who they are, even when their identity, experiences, interests, faith, etc. are different than mine. The best way I know to help express that respect for their identity is to acknowledge the things that our students (and their families!) might be observing or celebrating. I want everyone to feel like they belong at Wake, and this is one way I can try to express that.
And one final note: I do my best to identify all the major religions, holidays, cultural touchpoints, etc., but I know that I also can’t possibly mention everything. So if I miss one, know that it was not intentional 🙂