Welcome (back) to campus Collegiettes! As we start another year at Davidson, we continue conversations that have happened year in and year out. Some of them are changing as the times do, but a lot of them have stagnated. Davidson is a place that is dedicated to tradition and progress and balancing those on campus and within our community can sometimes be really difficult.
Enter State of the Campus: a weeklong kickoff to some of the important conversations of the year. On Monday, September 7th at 7:00pm, President Quillen will be giving a short speech in Duke Family Performance Hall. A town hall style discussion will follow where you can ask any and all the questions you might have after listening to her speech– or just in general!
Throughout the rest of the week, 4 sessions will address 4 different umbrella issues we’re seeing come up on campus.
On Tuesday, September 8th at 4:30pm in Union’s Sprinkle Room, President Quillen and other special guests will be discussing the Future of Davidson. They’ll be there to talk a little bit about the big campaigns and new projects we are undertaking. Want more info about the Capital Campaign? The Trust? That Academic Neighborhood thing? This is a session for you!
On Wednesday, September 9th at 4:30pm in the 900 Room, a group of students will be talking about how we talk about race on campus. There will be discourse surrounding questions you’ve never known who to ask, and talk about how we’re connecting the national conversations about race to our campus and our community.
Also on Wednesday, September 9th at 7:00pm in the Tomlinson Conference Room is a discussion about mental health on campus. Let’s be real, sometimes Davidson sucks at encouraging us to maintain a realistic and healthy balance between all of things we juggle all the time. We brag about how busy we are, how little sleep we get, and few are willing to show their imperfections. Come talk to some counselors from the health center and Dean Raymond about how to change that culture, and how to survive it in the meantime.
On Thursday, September 10th, at 7:00 pm in Chambers 1062, we’ll be talking about our campus’ sex culture. There’s been a lot of talk about sexual assault and the corresponding policy- but there’s a whole lot more to sex in college than a policy. What does hooking-up look like on campus? How do you flirt appropriately and effectively? What are boundaries that might be getting lost in translation from person to person? Come talk to student panelists and participants and share your thoughts.
The goal of all of these is to expand the conversations we’ve been having so that more voices can be heard. So, if you’ve never felt like there’s been a place at Davidson where you can talk about all of these things, air your grievances or your ideas, this is a space for you and I hope to see you there.