Oct. 11, 2023: Unity in Diversity Days
Our three-day event kicks off on Wednesday, Oct. 11, and is available for Merrimack faculty, staff, students and community members. Please review the schedule below.
Schedule for Day One - Oct. 11
8-9:15 a.m. – Wait! Your Bias is Showing
Speaker: Kadie LaFlamme
Location: Arcidi A
Students explore implicit bias and self-reflect about situations in which they have experienced or encountered everyday type of bias. Objectives: Understand what implicit and explicit bias are and provide examples. Reflect on situations in which they have experienced everyday bias, either as a target or a witness. Differentiate between implicit and explicit bias. Essential Questions: What is bias? What is implicit bias? In what ways could bias have an impact on your civic participation?
9:30-10:45 a.m. – The Ethical Algorithm
Speaker: Chris Stuetzle
Location: Arcidi A
Can ethics ever be “encoded” into algorithms? Over the course of the last three decades, algorithms have become the mediators of our very lives. While they have made lives more efficient, more entertaining, and in many cases better informed, they have also helped create a fundamentally uneven playing field, widening the already-present gap between “haves” and “have nots”, and significantly altering the composition of each of those groups. Understanding and improving the use of these algorithms and the data that trains them can help reverse the course of the damage caused by our reliance on them. In this talk, we will discuss the true scope of algorithmic power, demonstrate the bias and misuse of algorithmic implementation taking place all around us, and discuss a scientific and principled solution that helps bolster the currently inadequate ways of dealing with these issues (such as through legislation, watchdog groups, etc.).
9:30-10:45 a.m. – Women in Math Across the Centuries
Speaker: Paula Bordogna
Location: Sullivan 301 – Open to only students in this class
Familiarize students with the continuous contributions made by women in the field of mathematics.
11 a.m.-12:15 p.m. – The Biases Behind Psychological Research & What We can do to Fix Them
Speaker: Allison Seitchik
Location: Crowe Hall Executive Room
In this workshop, Dr. Seitchik will review classic psychological research studies and their biases. Attendees will discuss their limitations and work in groups to recreate them in an inclusive way. This workshop is geared toward psychology majors/minors but all students can attend. It’s my hope that attendees will learn critical thinking skills as well as research methods in regards to diversity and inclusion.
11 a.m.-12:15 p.m. – Raising Children’s Critical Social Consciousness through Literature
Speaker: Laura Hsu and Divya Anand
Location: Sullivan B7 – Open to only students in the class
Some teaching is well-intentioned, but, for some teachers, inclusive and equitable teaching methods are not seen as a necessity, but rather a benevolent consideration. This belief is centered around the different ways in which culture is centered, under different names, as the foundation for inclusive classrooms. This centering of culturally aware pedagogies, however well-intentioned, misses opportunities for understanding deep-rooted inequities and move towards transformation and justice. For example, anti-bias pedagogy typically avoids children’s books that are replete with stereotypes because the lack of exposure is believed to prevent its permeability. However, the inevitability of children being exposed to stereotypes will leave them vulnerable if they are not intentionally given the tools to manage such encounters. Books with varying degrees of exposure to stereotypes and various -isms could be used for critical analysis and serve as a kind of inoculation for building critical thinking and social consciousness. Participants will engage in an analytical reading of a children’s book using guided reflective questions to consider how to increase children’s critical social consciousness.
11 a.m.-12:45 p.m. – Women in Math Across the Centuries
Speaker: Paula Bordogna
Location: Sullivan 301 – Open to only students in this class
Familiarize students with the continuous contributions made by women in the field of mathematics.
12:30-1:45 p.m. – Raising Children’s Critical Social Consciousness through Literature
Speaker: Laura Hsu and Divya Anand
Location: Sullivan B7 – Open to only students in the class
Some teaching is well-intentioned, but, for some teachers, inclusive and equitable teaching methods are not seen as a necessity, but rather a benevolent consideration. This belief is centered around the different ways in which culture is centered, under different names, as the foundation for inclusive classrooms. This centering of culturally aware pedagogies, however well-intentioned, misses opportunities for understanding deep-rooted inequities and move towards transformation and justice. For example, anti-bias pedagogy typically avoids children’s books that are replete with stereotypes because the lack of exposure is believed to prevent its permeability. However, the inevitability of children being exposed to stereotypes will leave them vulnerable if they are not intentionally given the tools to manage such encounters. Books with varying degrees of exposure to stereotypes and various -isms could be used for critical analysis and serve as a kind of inoculation for building critical thinking and social consciousness. Participants will engage in an analytical reading of a children’s book using guided reflective questions to consider how to increase children’s critical social consciousness.
12:30-1:45 p.m. – Culturally Responsive Teaching: Misconceptions, Reflection, & Action
Speaker: Stephanie Garrone-Shufran
Location: Arcidi A
Participants will become familiar with three levels of culture: surface, shallow, and deep. They will engage in discussions of elements of culturally responsive teaching as it looks in practice and determine action steps towards bringing some aspect(s) of culturally responsive teaching into their practice.
2-3:15 p.m. – Befriending your Fear of Failure or Fear of Success
Moderator: Sarah Dionne
Speaker: Dulce Orozco
Location: Crowe Hall Executive Room
We will intentionally look at our fears, including our fear of success (yes that is a thing) so we can learn to lovingly connect with them, instead of continuing to push them away.
3:30-4:45 p.m. – What do we do about Florida? Moving from Ally to Accomplice to Advance LGBTQ Rights
Speakers: Susan Marine and Catherine Chandler
Location: Arcidi A
As the national legislative climate worsens for LGBTQ+ people, especially in the south, it is hard to know what we can do to effect change. In this workshop, we’ll discuss the harmful legislation and public policy actions currently curtailing LGBTQ+ existence and expression, and discuss ways that we can act locally, regionally and nationally as effective voices for change. This workshop is open to all, including members of the community and our allies!
5-6:15 p.m. – National Coming Out Day
Location: Cascia
In collaboration with our Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) student community and the LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group (ERG), Unity in Diversity Days is proud to host a National Coming Out Day (NCOD) reception for the Merrimack and wider community. Come and enjoy celebratory desserts and beverages.
National Coming Out Day (NCOD) was first held in the United States on October 11, 1988 and has been held on that day ever since. The idea came out of the feminist and gay liberation movements. They felt that coming out of the closet to friends, family and colleagues was a basic form of political activism – not to mention those who identified as being LGBT in the late 1980s – would be able to live a more open and authentic life. The founders believed homophobia would persist in an atmosphere of silence and ignorance. They also believed people with homophobic or oppressive views would reconsider such perspectives if they knew they had lesbian or gay family members, co-workers and close friends.
On the 35th year NCOD anniversary, we invite our Merrimack community to celebrate the progress achieved in advancing human rights, social justice and increased freedoms for LGBTQ+ communities. We acknowledge and appreciate the tremendous support from allies, friends and family as well as staff and faculty who helped to create Safe Zones on campus and in our home communities.
About the Event
Unity in Diversity Days, a two-day program, now in its sixth semester, was launched by the President’s Initiative on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). The program features a diverse group of community scholars, leaders, artists and advocates, designed to broaden and deepen our understanding of systemic inequalities and intersecting identities. A diverse lineup of speakers will share knowledge and strategies, designed to enhance our awareness and understanding, inspiring us to nurture spaces of belonging and communities rooted in accountability and intersectional justice.
This campus-wide programming is sponsored by the President’s initiative on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in collaboration with the Office of the Provost, the Office of Intercultural Initiatives, and the Office of Counseling and Wellness Education.Â
Who Should Attend
All events are in person and are free and open to the public, with the exception of a few that take place during closed Merrimack classes.Â
Event Details
This campus-wide programming is sponsored by the President’s initiative on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in collaboration with the Office of the Provost.
