SCOR Weekly Newsletter
Students of Color of Rackham Newsletter
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Thursday, August 20th, 2015
New Year, New SCOR, New Survey!
We invite you to participate in our SCOR climate survey below:
https://umich.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5jve1VqVOqiuRiR
This survey is based on your experiences with and expectations of SCOR. Your responses will inform our programmatic and membership goals for the year, including:
· Expanding membership to represent all students of color and their communities within Rackham
· Supporting graduate students of color in both their social/community affiliation needs and their affiliations with political activism/social justice;
· Increasing networking opportunities for students of color within the Michigan community as well as with Michigan alumni
· Facilitating opportunities for community engagement for members of SCOR and their affiliates.
Your feedback is invaluable to our work and efforts to serve you well this school year. Your responses will be kept confidential, so please feel free to speak/write freely throughout the survey. We look forward to your responses HERE!
As Students of Color of Rackham (SCOR) we…
Enhance the campus and community environment to promote academic growth, professional development, and general well-being among students of color.
Build an environment in which all persons can network and acquire opportunities for professional development.
Encourage and enable service and awareness at the University, within local communities, nationally and internationally. Sponsor cultural, educational, social programs and activities, which appeal to graduate students of color.
Sincerely,
2015-2016 SCOR EBoard
Channing Mathews- Doctoral Student CPEP, President
Pete Haviland-Eduah- Master of Public Policy, Vice President
Michael Medina- Doctoral Student CPEP, Treasurer
Asya Harrison- Doctoral Student CPEP, Secretary/Symposium Co-Chair
Courtney McLuney- Doctoral Student P&SC, Rackham Liaison/Alumni Relations Coordinator
Aliza Kazmi – Master of Public Policy, Political Action and Community Service Chair
Demar Lewis IV- Master of Public Policy, Symposium Co-Chair
FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT:
Who is SCOR? WE are SCOR
Greetings SCOR Family! My name is Channing Mathews and I am serving as this year’s SCOR president. I am both excited and humbled to take the helm of this organization. As we are surrounded by rich and complex conversations about race, sexuality, identity, and intersectionality in America, I know that SCOR will play a critical role in facilitating these dialogues at U of M.
With such conversations being at the forefront of social and news media, the SCOR E-board has been brainstorming and thinking critically about how to actively engage our members in these dialogues. Simultaneously, we serve as a social outlet for our communities to meet, network, and support one another through this long, but rewarding journey called graduate school. I cannot express how thankful I am, not only for the E-board’s demonstrated work and commitment, but also for their honesty in creating a new vision of balance of social fun and social justice in our communities of color here at U of M.
So, on a personal note and acknowledgement; Pete, Michael, Asya, Coutney, Demar, Aliza, and Faithe: Thank you for bringing your whole authentic and creative selves to this table, this year, in this moment. And thank you for trusting me to listen to and lead with you. It is truly an honor.
Our conversations have resulted in SCOR revamping a few old traditions and starting some new ones, beginning with our SCOR Participation Survey. Our survey is intended to capture your voice in both the programming and membership goals of the organization. As the social contexts in which we pursue our academic studies change, we seek to create programming that reflects the needs of our membership at this present time and place. As you, our body, are the most important and dynamic representation of SCOR, your voice is what matters most as we move forward. We look forward to hearing your thoughts and incorporating them into the events we will feature this year.
Speaking of events, we have quite a few exciting ones coming up for you. We will kickoff the year with our annual SCOR BBQ on September 13th , followed in October by our first Multicultural State of the Union event wherein we will discuss our “year in review” for communities of color in the United States as well as at the University of Michigan. Later in the fall, we hope to feature a “Members’ Choice” event where your feedback from the survey will directly manifest in one of our monthly events for the academic year.
So as we wind down these last few beautiful weeks of summer, we hope you will take some time to speak up and tell us what you would like to see from SCOR in the next school year. It’s all of us that will bring about a change in the community, rather than just one voice, one e-board, or one ethnic community. Each and every one of you has a voice, a talent, an artistry, or even a theory to bring to the table. Together WE are SCOR. And together, we are a force to be reckoned with.
Until Next Time,
Channing
INSIDE THIS NEWSLETTER:
Welcome back! With a new year comes a new e-Board so make sure to check out the updated SCOR Executive Board section of the website to learn more about the new officers of the organization.
Upcoming SCOR Events & Opportunities:
1. The Annual SCOR BBQ – Sunday, September 13, 2015 at the Trotter Multicultural Center. There will be a live DJ, fun games, food from Cuppy’s, and a host of U Michigan graduate students to meet, so come out and enjoy!
2. SCOR/Rackham Welcome Dinner-September 29th, 5:30-7 PM, Rackham Graduate School
3. Multi-Cultural State of the Union/SCOR Happy Hour: Friday, October 2, 2015
4. Spoken Word Night: Friday, November 6, 2015
5. SCOR Members Choice: Friday, December 4, 2015
Upcoming events & opportunities on campus:
- RMF Connection from August 17th-August 28th: Help welcome the new Rackham Merit Fellows to Michigan by participating in the many on campus events and orientations occurring during the two weeks of programming.
- Fall Welcome and Information Fair for New Graduate Students: Friday, September 4th: 8:45am-12pm
- Rackham/RSG Fall Welcome Social: Friday, September 4th – 5pm-7pm
Other Opportunities:
1. Want to write a short piece/letter/essay for the newsletter? Please contact scor-communications@umich.edu to sign up!