The University hosted its 2nd annual Stand Together Week on March 27-29, with a slate of events that took place focused on civility, inclusion, and understanding. Hosted by UMPI’s Inclusion and Civility Task Force, this year’s Stand Together Week included a ribbon cutting for UMPI’s new Democracy Wall, the signing of a Pledge to diversity and inclusion, a one-act play, and the campus’ first Diversity Dialogue.
The Democracy Wall was established to promote diversity, inclusion, and civil discourse on campus by providing a democratic free speech area. The Wall, located in the Campus Center next to the staircase, will have a question posted on it (to be updated on a regular basis), and everyone—students, faculty, staff, and community members—is welcome to add their own responses. Ground rules are posted with the Democracy Wall; the goal is to open a dialogue and increase understanding, and all are invited to be a part of the conversation.
During Stand Together Week, the campus community was invited to Sign the Pledge created last year to reflect UMPI’s campus values of civil discourse, greater understanding of other cultures, safe spaces, and ensuring all voices are heard. A six-foot-high version of the Pledge was available at various times in the Campus Center and Folsom/Pullen Hall, and scores of signatures now cover the poster.
Because it aligned well with the themes of Stand Together Week, Easton High School students presented their one-act play I Never Saw Another Butterfly through special arrangement in the Auditorium at Wieden Hall on March 28. The story centered around Raja, one of the children who survived Terezin—15,000 Jewish children passed through the concentration camp but only 100 were still alive when it was liberated at the end of the war. Raja, who created a little world of laughter and butterflies behind the barbed wire, told the story of the children. Easton High won the Maine Regional Drama Festival and received 3rd place at the Maine State Drama Festival with this play. A large crowd of campus and community members gathered in the Auditorium to witness the reprise performance.
Finally, as part of Stand Together Week, UMPI presented its first ever Diversity Dialogue, an event meant to encourage civil discourse. With the help of facilitators, more than 100 students, staff, and faculty gathered to discuss the topic Coming to America: Who Should We Welcome? What Should We Do? Participants grappled with the issue of immigration, looking at it from three different perspectives and then debating all three sides. Organizers hope to host another Dialogue event in the near future.
To learn more about Stand Together Week, or the work the Inclusion and Civility Task Force is doing, visit www.umpi.edu/owlstandbyyou.
