WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:12.000 music 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:20.000 music 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:26.000 Western Oregon University's involvement in this really began shortly after the presidential election 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:34.000 with conversations on campus around statements we need to make to ensure that we were a safe and inclusive community. 00:00:34.000 --> 00:00:40.000 And so that lead to a very spirited and good discussion by our faculty senate. 00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:44.000 And many of the students who are here today were also instrumental in that conversation 00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:52.000 in helping our senate really endorse unanimously a resolution that we should establish ourselves 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:56.000 as a sanctuary campus and we did that in November. 00:00:56.000 --> 00:00:60.000 That was again following the angst and convern 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:04.000 as a result of the presidential election and also the fear 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:08.000 that many of our students have about their status going forward. 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:12.000 It was really focused on our DACA students, initially. 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:17.000 As other events unfolded, it became clear to really the students and our faculty 00:01:17.000 --> 00:01:20.000 that we wanted to reach out to our city that we reside in. 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:24.000 And talk about the role we need to have as a town-gown relationship. 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:29.000 And so that lead to our students really taking the lead with the help of our faculty. 00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:34.000 Ultimately, I was also involved by writing a letter of support to the council and the mayors 00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:38.000 about statements we needed to make to all of our residents. 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:43.000 And so while some of our students may not vote in elections 00:01:43.000 --> 00:01:45.000 they are still residents for 9+ months a year. 00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:50.000 And we wanted to be sure that our students whether they live on campus or off campus 00:01:50.000 --> 00:01:55.000 are safe and secure and have a knowledge that this is their place. 00:01:55.000 --> 00:01:57.000 So that they can complete their journeys. 00:01:57.000 --> 00:01:62.000 I think as many in the room know, Western prides itself on serving students 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:05.000 who in many cases are the first in their families to go to college. 00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:10.000 They are really setting the standard for generations to come. 00:02:10.000 --> 00:02:15.000 I was lucky enough that my father was a WWII vet and went to college on the GI bill. 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:20.000 It set in motion opportunities for myself and my siblings. 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:24.000 And I know that our graduates do the same thing today with over 50% of our students doing that. 00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:32.000 So I think Western has a special calling to serve under-represented students and first-gen students. to 00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:35.000 And we are one on the most diverse campuses in the state of Oregon. 00:02:35.000 --> 00:02:39.000 And that diversity is going to do nothing but continue to grow. 00:02:39.000 --> 00:02:41.000 And so the demographics of the state are clear. 00:02:41.000 --> 00:02:46.000 Our fastest growing populations are non-white and we need to be prepared 00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:50.000 to educate them. Help them set their sails for their journey. 00:02:50.000 --> 00:02:55.000 And I'm pleased that the city and the university stand together on this issue. 00:02:55.000 --> 00:02:58.000 And so I've been wanting to see this happen for a long time. 00:02:58.000 --> 00:02:63.000 And it's unfortunate that sometimes the way things change is for 00:03:03.000 --> 00:03:08.000 society to get negative. For those of us who wanted to see 00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:12.000 that be positive, get into gear and get into action. 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:18.000 And so I want to bring you back to December of 2016 when 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:21.000 Pat Nixon approached us and said 00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:29.000 And what happened is because of the political climate 00:03:29.000 --> 00:03:32.000 there were a couple of people who immediately said, 00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:44.000 And there was already the stigma around what a sanctuary city was. 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:49.000 And we were approached again, "Can you become a sanctuary city?" 00:03:49.000 --> 00:03:56.000 And a couple of councilors really started to get defensive about, "no we don't want to be that." 00:03:56.000 --> 00:03:61.000 Some people had been approaching us and I actually asked a couple of people; "Why don't you come tell your story. 00:04:01.000 --> 00:04:05.000 Don't tell us what we need to become. 00:04:05.000 --> 00:04:08.000 Tell us why you think it's important that we change." 00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:10.000 And so some people started coming 00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:16.000 from MEChA, from WOU. Other community members stood up to tell their story 00:04:16.000 --> 00:04:20.000 about why this needed to change. 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:23.000 And being up on the dius with the other councilors 00:04:23.000 --> 00:04:27.000 I could feel the change in their attitudes 00:04:27.000 --> 00:04:30.000 as you guys told your stories. 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:34.000 Stories matter when we want to make a change. 00:04:34.000 --> 00:04:38.000 I got involved in this resolution when Marshall Guthrie approached 00:04:38.000 --> 00:04:46.000 a few MEChA students to do some grassroots organizing to start a movement to pass this resolution. 00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:52.000 I t wasn't easy. It took a lot of organizing. It took over 4 months of constantly going to 00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:57.000 the city council every week, organizing local businesses, organizing wineries 00:04:57.000 --> 00:04:64.000 agricultural businesses, and kinda just trying to gather support around Polk County on this. 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:09.000 What I noticed is that once people start to learn this and it started to gain momentum 00:05:09.000 --> 00:05:14.000 people just started to come to the meetings on their own and the support for it was amazing. 00:05:14.000 --> 00:05:18.000 I remember the final day which was April 4th when this was voted on. 00:05:18.000 --> 00:05:24.000 We had over, I do believe it was a group of around, 50 people who email the city councilors and the mayor 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:31.000 asking them to support this which I think is amazing. That and the room was full of people as well. 00:05:31.000 --> 00:05:37.000 As it progressed, you know, it was I guess a realization of just like, hey, 00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:41.000 there's other marginalized communities out there that we also need to reach out to. 00:05:41.000 --> 00:05:45.000 The Latino population is one. The undocumented population is one. 00:05:45.000 --> 00:05:50.000 But there are also other populations out there that we also need to keep in mind 00:05:50.000 --> 00:05:54.000 when we start doing this type of work cuz being inclusive means including everybody. 00:05:54.000 --> 00:05:57.000 We just completed a planning process on campus 00:05:57.000 --> 00:05:64.000 A number of key pillars come to mind as I hear to the comments of the panelists today. 00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:07.000 We talk about the word community on our campus a lot. 00:06:07.000 --> 00:06:12.000 And we also talk about the fact that our students need to be engage in the community. 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:14.000 So we have a goal of community engagement. 00:06:14.000 --> 00:06:20.000 The project on the history of the valley is a good example where we can 00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:24.000 not only do the history and help provide an educational basis for all of us. 00:06:24.000 --> 00:06:28.000 But do it in a way which is also available in both Spanish and English. 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:31.000 I think of our bilingual education program 00:06:31.000 --> 00:06:36.000 and the Docen idea and perhaps having our students get involved in helping 00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:40.000 be Docen on volunteer basic or do it as part of their education experience. 00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:43.000 So I think one of the things that I have tried to 00:06:43.000 --> 00:06:47.000 work with my faculty and staff on is being actively engaged 00:06:47.000 --> 00:06:52.000 so when our students graduate which they will do here June 17th and June of every year 00:06:52.000 --> 00:06:56.000 is that they have a portfolio of things they've accomplished 00:06:56.000 --> 00:06:58.000 in addition to the coursework. 00:06:58.000 --> 00:06:62.000 We, every year, host an academic showcase which was yesterday 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:04.000 where our students demonstrate the work that they do. 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:09.000 Everything from creative work, to research. It runs the full gamit. 00:07:09.000 --> 00:07:12.000 A project like this behind me would be a wonderful example 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:16.000 of work our students could do in cooperation with community. 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:21.000 And I think here the community really means both cities. 00:07:21.000 --> 00:07:23.000 They abut one another. They're adjacent. 00:07:23.000 --> 00:07:28.000 I'll challenge any of us to tell me where the actual city boundaries are by memory 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:32.000 because they are really in one sense a single community. 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:35.000 And we're seeing that more and more each day. 00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:40.000 I would say to you that we stand ready to work on projects in the city of Independence as well as Monmouth. 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:43.000 But if I think in terms of the resolution that was started, 00:07:43.000 --> 00:07:46.000 it started in our home base, if you will. 00:07:46.000 --> 00:07:54.000 We did this because we want to have Monmouth become a more inclusive place. 00:07:54.000 --> 00:07:57.000 There's a lot of discrimination around the United States 00:07:57.000 --> 00:07:60.000 and that's something that we think we can work on locally. 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:04.000 Especially, since we're students. 00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:07.000 This is just one step forward though. 00:08:07.000 --> 00:08:09.000 There's still a lot of work to be done. 00:08:09.000 --> 00:08:13.000 And just having a statement like this isn't going to stop discrimation, 00:08:13.000 --> 00:08:20.000 stop racism and all that type of stuff. So that's where we do our part 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:24.000 as a community to work on bettering the lives of the citizens of Monmouth. 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:28.000 I'm old enough; I tired of everything having to be lit by a fire. 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:32.000 That it would be nice if we just did it on our own 00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:36.000 and could show that we really do care about each other 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:40.000 because we care about each other. Not because we're afraid that 00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:43.000 we need to show that I care about you because 00:08:43.000 --> 00:08:45.000 Trump's gonna take something away from you. 00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:48.000 You just need to know that I care about you because I care about you. 00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:56.000 And I think that's where I really want to see the word inclusion, inclusive, inclusivity 00:08:56.000 --> 00:08:60.000 kinda get to be part of our everyday terminology 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:04.000 that we're, that we're embracing each other. 00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:16.000 music 00:09:16.000 --> 00:09:26.000 music