Inclusion Matters: Real Stories from Real People
In January 2008, the Office of Residence Life will be providing spring training for over 200 staff members, including Resident Advisors, Hall Directors, Resident Directors, Graduate Assistants, and our professional leadership team. As part of this training, we want to expose our staff to "real life experiences" of students who have experienced exclusion or oppression here on the UK campus. In this training effort, we will be presenting a production similar to Violence Intervention and Prevention Center's production "In Our Own Voices." This training piece will include 5 monologues that tell students’ stories. Our department would like to highlight stories of students who have experienced things such as (1) exclusion in any form, (2) oppression by individuals or communities, (3) challenges of mental or physical disability, (4) incidents of prejudice, violence, or other forms of hate because of your identity with a certain group (i.e. women, GLBT students, etc.). We hope to convey the message that students have challenges beyond what we normally see and that the importance of diversity on the UK campus goes beyond the issues of race and color. After hearing your story, our staff will have to think critically about ways to address these problems on campus. This will better prepare our staff to create more inclusive communities and build areas of support for students like you.
We are currently seeking written submissions for the Spring 2008 training piece "Inclusion Matters: Real Stories from Real People."
The Office of Residence Life at the University of Kentucky is asking you to share your story with us in writing. Your submissions could include, but are not limited to the following topics:
- Experiences of being oppressed while on campus because you are a minority
- While on campus, someone in authority has used a slur to refer to me
- While on campus, I have been a victim of a crime of prejudice or a hate crime
- I have been treated differently by people in authority or by a peer because I am a _____(minority, woman, international student, student with a mental or physical disability, gay student, etc.)
- I do not feel that this campus is made to include me because of my physical and/or mental disability
- I was assaulted on campus because of my identity with a certain group, and now I feel alienated and out of control
- I have a learning disability, but I do not have support of my peers, faculty, and/or staff members
- I am ________________(race, LGBT, Muslim, etc.) and I do not fit in
Submissions for the training piece will be completely confidential. By submitting your experience, you give the Office of Residence Life the right to alter your submission, which may include editing or combining your words with other people's submissions. In addition, by submitting your story, you give the Office of Residence Life the right to use your submission to create a script that will be performed publicly to professional and student staff. There will be a cast of students and staff that will perform stories for our training. Elements of your submission may also be used in this presentation to educate and raise awareness among staff members. Your submission of a manuscript indicates your understanding and acceptance of the parameters outlined above. If you have any questions, please contact the UK Office of Residence Life at (859) 257-4784 or (859) 323-9482.
You are not required to provide your name with your submission. There are three ways to submit your story to us:
- Online form (confidential and anonymous)
- Email at: lmjohn2@uky.edu (confidential but not anonymous)
- Campus mail to L'Tonya Johnson, Office of Residence Life, 537 Patterson Office Tower, 40526-0027
The Office of Residence Life will be accepting submissions from any UK student for this training project. The submission deadline is December 18, 2007. Any submissions received after this date will be considered for future training pieces. Our department would like to thank you for helping us with this project. Without you this would be impossible!
Writing a personal story about a traumatic experience may bring up uncomfortable or difficult feelings. If you need to talk, please contact the UK Counseling & Testing Center at: (859) 257-8701. For an emergency please call the UK Police Department at 911, (859) 257-1616, or #UKPD from your cellular phone.
office of residence life . university of kentucky . 537 patterson office tower . lexington‚ ky . 40506–0027 . (859) 257–4784 . fax (859) 323–4941