Interfaith America will facilitate several listening sessions for Occidental College students, faculty, and staff on January 25 and 26.
Dear Occidental Community,
As we shared with you earlier this month, Interfaith America, a civic organization dedicated to promoting pluralism and unlocking the potential of America’s diversity for the common good, will facilitate several listening sessions for Occidental College students, faculty, and staff on January 25 and 26.
The purpose of these on-campus sessions is to provide a listening ear to various groups within the Occidental community and to note what their experiences and perceptions are of the tensions on campus since October 7. Interfaith America will subsequently provide the College with an analysis that offers recommendations on a course of action to enhance cooperation and to build relationships across differences.
The listening sessions are designed to accommodate small groups of 12-15 people who share common concerns and viewpoints. Registration for the sessions is being managed by IFA and participants in the sessions will be kept confidential.
A limited number of spaces remain open. To register, please follow the link in the email that was shared with the campus community on Jan. 23.
We are optimistic that these sessions will set us on a path to meet President Elam’s call to find spaces for community engagement, for coming together with good will, and for enabling difficult dialogues.
Interfaith America defines "interfaith" as positive interactions between people who orient around religion differently. This includes people who are not affiliated with a religious tradition and people who define themselves as secular.
Interfaith America recognizes that the sources of tensions on campus and in the Middle East cannot singularly be defined as religious in nature. It also recognizes that religious identities and communities represent an important dimension of what is happening, and that people who orient around religion differently have a constructive role to play in responding to the challenges facing our campuses, our nation, and our world in this particular moment.
Thank you in advance for participating in these important conversations and for helping to build and strengthen our community.
For updates on these and other ongoing community and safety initiatives, please continue to visit the website for the Task for Promoting Community and Safety.
Sincerely,
Wendy F. Sternberg
Co-chair, Task Force on Promoting Community and Safety
Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College
Vivian Garay Santiago
Co-chair, Task Force on Promoting Community and Safety
Assistant Vice-President for Student Affairs & Associate Dean of Students