Student Affinity Spaces
Designated affinity spaces for students to receive support and to build community.
January 17, 2023 marks the seventh annual US National Day of Racial Healing. First launched in 2017 by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the National Day of Racial Healing is part of the US Movement for Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) and is observed immediately following Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This is for collective awareness and action toward both racial equity and healing. We invite you to participate in this national day of reflection, reconciliation, and healing by learning from history, listening to the stories of others, and having courageous conversations. We encourage you to set aside time for discussion, education, and reflection using the resources below and those available at the National Day of Racial Healing website.
The lessons of the Holocaust are more relevant than ever as the world remembers International Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27, the anniversary of liberation from Auschwitz-Birkenau. We hope you will take some time to remember the six million Jewish victims.
Holocaust: The systematic, government slaughter of six million Jews by the Nazi dictatorship and its allies and accomplices is known as the Holocaust.
We have compiled resources and activities you can engage in this International Holocaust Rememberence Day (IHRD):
The Social Work DEI Team wants to recognize the breadth of diversity, equity, and inclusion work being done in our Department and the larger MSU Denver community as well as amplify the voices of those from historically silenced communities. Have a story you want to share with us for a chance to be featured on our website? Submit it today!
MSU Denver Department of Social Work has embarked on a journey to provide the necessary supports and resources to the department to ensure that we create a culturally responsive professional and academic learning environment truly rooted in an anti-oppressive social work practice. We invite the Department, students, and partnering agencies to actively engage in and create spaces for critical reflexivity, self-awareness, and discussions around the dismantling of oppressive systems.
The social work profession is built upon a set of core values that recognize the “dignity and worth of the person,” “the importance of human relationships,” and “social justice” (NASW, 2021, preamble). MSU Denver strongly believes that social work education is based on belief that reform is necessary within most social systems, whereby the social work curriculum is uniquely situated to provide the basic understanding and implementation of incremental and significant changes across the micro, mezzo, and macro levels. Understanding how discrimination characterizes and shapes the human experience and development of identity, diversity, equity, and inclusion work must be recognized as foundational to the social work education experience.
Please join the Department as we hold brave spaces to embrace intersectional identifies and confront oppressive systems.
To provide the necessary supports and resources to the department to ensure that we create a culturally responsive professional and academic learning environment truly rooted in an anti-oppressive social practice.
MSU Denver Social Work Department strives to practice, promote, and educate the Council on Social Work Education’s competencies regarding diversity and social justice. Specifically, to engage diversity and difference in practice and advance human rights and social, economic, and environmental justice.
Are you interested in taking your educational and professional career to the next level? Do you have the desire to develop your future in equity leadership? You can start right now as a BSSW or MSW student.
Social Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion are critical to our practice as social workers, starting during our educational journey. A fellowship is a fantastic opportunity to gain experience and exposure to specific types of work. No matter what trajectory your social work path takes you on, Social Justice, Equity, and Diversity are vital components in your learning and work.
The 2023 Courageous Equity Leadership Fellows (CELF) Program is comprised of diverse leadership seeking to contribute to intra-racial and inter-racial healing locally and globally. “Fellows who complete the training modules, develop and execute virtual and/or face to face racial equity projects will receive a $1500.00 scholarship” (Courageous Conversation ®, 2023).
Applications are due on March 1st, 2023
Use affirmative language with yourself, i.e. (I am doing my best, I am beautiful, I am capable, It is okay to need help.)
Sound can be healing. Emotional responses can be stimulated or relaxed through music. Music can be soothing and restorative. Make yourself a playlist and permit yourself to sound out!
Seek counseling or therapy. Everyone has mental health, and it is OKAY to take care of yourself.
Rest your body. It is okay to relax.
Move your body. Exercise and body movement can support increased energy and sleep. You don’t have to know Yoga to try it. YouTube videos, Books, or Classes can all be good methods for all levels.
Try to increase your hydration and decrease your alcohol consumption. Alcohol can be a depressant.
This winter break may be the perfect time to see a medical provider. Taking care of your physical well-being is essential. We have a medical center on campus.
Don’t shame yourself for feeling whatever you feel.
Unplug. Take a break from technology and social media sites. Remember, it is OKAY to unfollow people and pages that make you feel bad about yourself.
Spend time in an environment that supports the uplifting, soothing, and relaxing of your soul.
We are all individuals on a journey hoping to live our best lives while helping others along the way. We are having a human experience. Having a human experience can be fabulous and challenging. Many of us are passionate about social work because we want to pour our compassion and care into individuals, families, groups, and communities. Remember–You are important too. It isn’t always easy to show the same kindness and empathy toward oneself that flows so easily to others. With some intentional practice, your self-compassion and self-care can grow.
DEI Co-Coordinator, OSWSS and Field Liaison, Faculty/Staff Consultations and Support
[email protected] View Full ProfileDEI Co-Coordinator, Neurodiverse & Disabled Student Affinity Group Facilitator and Black-Identified Student Affinity Group Facilitator
[email protected] View Full ProfileBIPOC Student Affinity Group Facilitator and Black-Identified Student Affinity Group Facilitator
[email protected] View Full ProfileWhite-Identified Student Affinity Group Facilitator and Curriculum & More Liaison
[email protected] View Full ProfileMen in Social Work Student Affinity Group Facilitator
[email protected] View Full ProfileFaculty Advisor for the Building Allies of Diversity Student Group
[email protected] View Full ProfileFirst-Generation Student Affinity Group Facilitator
[email protected] View Full ProfileLGBTQAI+ Student Affinity Group Facilitator and White-Identified Student Affinity Group Facilitator
[email protected] View Full ProfileLatin/a/o/x Student Affinity Group Facilitator
[email protected] View Full ProfileNeurodiverse & Disabled Student Affinity Group Facilitator
[email protected] View Full ProfileDesignated affinity spaces for students to receive support and to build community.
Designated space for faculty and staff to engage in candid conversations about training, education and support related to teaching and facilitating critical conversations about diversity and social justice.
Student Affinity Spaces are a place where groups of people are drawn together because of shared strong interests, characteristics or engagement in a common activity. The goals of affinity spaces are:
If you have questions about any of the student affinity groups, please email the group facilitator. As of Fall 2022, we are offering the following affinity spaces:
1:15 PM
4th Tuesday of the month
See list above for groups meeting at this time
3:00 PM
4th Thursday of the month
LGBTQIA+ Student Affinity Group
1:00 PM
November 4, 2022
Men in Social Work Student Affinity Group
Pedagogy & Diversity (P&D) workshops welcome all social work faculty and staff. The goals of P&D workshops are:
For more information, contact Dr. Julie Clockston via email at [email protected]
As of Fall 2022, we are offering the following P&D Spaces and Workshops:
For faculty and staff
Hosted by NASW New York STate Chapter, open to members and non-members.
New NASW-NYS Special Interest Group: LGBTQQIAAPP+ Social Work! This group is intended to be a safe, brave, and supportive space for LGBTQQIAAPP+-identifying social workers and their allies. This will be a space for community advocacy, discussion of LGBTQQIAAPP+ social justice initiatives, and education opportunities for different subsets of the queer and trans and gender diverse/non-conforming community. NASW-NYS members and non-members are welcome. Visit https://lnkd.in/gZFSm8sF to register — we hope to see you there!” Thank you #NASWNYS for hosting.
#NASW #SocialWork #SocialWorkers #LGBT #LGBTQ #LGBTQQIAAP
This group must be registered for.
“1619” is a New York Times audio series, hosted by Nikole Hannah-Jones, that examines the long shadow of American slavery. This audio series examines how slavery has transformed America, connecting past and present through the oldest form of storytelling.This group wil meet on select Tuesday from 2:30 PM to 3:45 PM beginning October 18 through December 6, 2022. If you have questions or need the registration link, please mail Dr. Greathouse at [email protected]. The podcast discussion schedule is:
Office of Diversity and Inclusion
Center for Multicultural Engagement and Inclusion
In April of 2022, the MSU Denver social work department, with the full support of our Chair Dr. Jessica Retrum, our DEI Coordinator, Dr. Tanya Greathouse, and the DEI committee, had the pleasure of supporting and sponsoring B L A C X E R A.
B L A C X E R A is a student organization at the Metropolitan State University of Denver founded in 2020 by X.
The Purpose: This student organization saw a need to support Black students and the Black community at the height of the double pandemic as we simultaneously grappled with COVID and Black Lives Matter protests to dismantle oppression, racism, discrimination, and abuse of power and police brutality. B L A C X E R A exists at MSU Denver to foster a sense of community and collective support across ethnic intersectional differences for those who identify as Black, African, Afro-Latinx, Caribbean, and mixed-race Black identified students. Black folx are not a monolith, and B L A C X E R A strives to make sure Black identified students do not exist in a vacuum. Recently B L A C X E R A presented a pop-up shop on campus titled HER X HUSTLE celebrating Black women entrepreneurship which featured a panel with Black women entrepreneurs discussing business and women ownership. Please see the video to learn more about B L A C X E R A and incredible business entrepreneurship from the knowledgeable and talented panel. For more information, email [email protected]
We look forward to seeing more events in the future
Asé
MSU Denver DEI Committee
*Asé (pronounced Ah-Shay) is an African word from the Yoruba language, which originated in the country of Nigeria.
If you have any DEI related questions, concerns, curiosities, or if you are in need of a consultation please reach out or submit a contact form!
Social Work DEI Contact FormOffice Location:
Central Classroom Building, Suite 201
Email:
[email protected]
Mailing Address:
Metropolitan State University of Denver
Department of Social Work
PO Box 173362 CB 70
Denver, CO 80217-3362