First Peoples

Day of Absence and Day of Presence

mobbsj — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 20:02:37 +0000

This year on February 7, 2009 we celebrated Day of Absence.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with what Day of Absence is about, here is a brief history of how it began. The first Day of Absence, celebrated originally in the mid 70’s, was a unity dinner, primarily for Evergreen’s African-American community. The idea for Day of Absence came from a play of the same name by Douglas Turner Ward. In the play, the African American members of the community mysteriously disappear for 24 hours. Those who are left in the community are forced to reflect on the meaning and consequences of life without such an important part of their community.

The event has become an off-campus retreat which all of Evergreen’s students, staff and faculty of color are invited to attend. While the community of color is off-campus, the rest of the community is on campus to participate in a full day of programming and workshops around identity development and anti-oppression work. Day of Absence is very important to many students of color because it gives us a chance to explore ideas, problems and solutions to issues of diversity in our own community. During Day of Absence one can speak openly without feeling the need to explain, defend or interpret our thoughts.

This year, Day of Presence was celebrated on February 18, 2009. Day of Presence is an all day event on campus that represents the reuniting of our entire community. It gives everyone an opportunity to share ideas with each other around the issues of diversity and building a stronger community. The agendas for these events are different every year and they’re a great opportunity for everyone on campus to learn new things, meet new people and strengthen the Evergreen community.

We had a lot of fun at Day of Absence this year! It was a rare opportunity for so many students of color to be in one room at the same time. Day of Absence went so well because everyone was open, honest and willing to participate. I would encourage any current or prospective students of color to attend Day of Absence next year!

DAY OF ABSENCE!!

mobbsj — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 16:30:44 +0000

Day of Absence is celebration that happens every year. All or most of the students of color go off campus to honor our community of color, making it stronger and more connected. It took place yesterday (Friday February 6, 2009) and we got to see a movie, danced a bit, did a oppression and queer alliance workshop, we ate lunch together, and we got to do some other fun activities that really brought our community of color together. Evergreens preview day was today, Jazi and I got to talk with new students who are interested in coming to Evergreen! Remember… If you have any questions feel free to ask, NO MATTER WHAT THEY MAY BE. We are here to help!

We also have a Day of Presence will be coming up very soon!!! (more information about that will be coming soon)

Preview Day is Coming!

mobbsj — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:14:45 +0000

Evergreen has their own preview day every year! It will take place this Saturday, February 7, 2009. As part of our contract we are doing our own preview day specifically for students of color! Exact date is unknown at the moment, but it will take place during the second week of March 2009. It will include a student panel of all the student groups of color at Evergreen, a workshop, tours, and information about financial aid, First Peoples, and K.E.Y. student services.

We are so excited to see how this turns out! And we want to know who will be interested in coming!

If you would like to know more information about it feel free to contact us.
Estella: fpass2@evergreen.edu
Jazmine: fpass1@evergreen.edu

Welcome to our blog!

mobbsj — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 18:27:20 +0000

The Women of Color Coalition, MEChA, and the Black Student Union are just a few student groups on campus for students of color. Many of the student groups come together to do events around campus. Just yesterday, most of these groups came together for a potluck to share foods from different cultures.

Here at Evergreen, you have the opportunity to create your own class. We are doing a contract this quarter that we have created ourselves along with First Peoples. The goal of our contract is to bring more students of color to Evergreen, to help make the campus a more diverse place. Our contract includes several readings, watching films, contacting prospective students, and going to different schools talking with students of color. For our final project, we are going to bring a group of high school students of color to Evergreen, showing them the resources we have available specifically for those students.

Since one of us normally studies computer science, we were able to include that into our contract by re-designing the First Peoples website. Anything you are interested in, you can find a class that best suits you and what you desire to do most as a future career.