Navigating the recent events in our nation
Coming Together as a Community
After the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, we recognize that people across the country are feeling deep pain, fear, and shock. This violence has shaken so many. We know that many are looking for support and spaces to talk with one another about these events. Therefore, in order to serve the community and help each other feel connected during these challenging times, Community + Values has compiled a list of programs, events, and resources for the DU community.
This list is meant to be focused on how the DU community can engage in conversations and dialogue through a variety of different viewpoints, perspectives, and political activities. We hope this list serves as a starting point for connection, conversation, and support.
This page will continually be updated as more information becomes available on events, programs, and resources. We have attempted to gather information on all available resources and events at DU, but if there is something you would like to add to this web page, please email us at CommunityPlusValues@du.edu.
Events & Programs (Listed Chronologically)
Insurrection at the Capitol
Date & Time: Streamed live on Jan. 8, 2021 | Watch the recorded livestream
Watch the recorded livestream of an important discussion with faculty experts from across the University of Denver campus on the recent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. They explore the historical significance of the events that occurred, the impact it has had on America’s reputation abroad, possible implications for the Biden administration, and the steps needed to heal a polarized country.
Event sponsored and created by Korbel School
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What Just Happened? Understanding the Final Days of the Trump Administration
Date & Time: Streamed live on Jan. 11, 2021 | Watch the recorded livestream
The Department of Political Science in DU's College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences presented a panel discussion with its faculty.
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Creating your Knapsack for Teaching After a National Crisis
Date & Time: Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021 | 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm MDT
The events of the past year and days continue to challenge our collective courage in genuinely profound ways. A context of uncertainty, division, loss, and crisis continues defining how we work, teach, learn, and interact with one another. Join the director for inclusive teaching practices to explore the latest resources for teaching after and during a national crisis, and choose the ones that best align with your discipline, teaching style, and goals! This session includes an overview of resources and working-time.
An Office of Teaching & Learning event.
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DU Democrats Meeting
Date & Time: Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021 | 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm MDT
Attend the DU Democrats meeting to process recent events and discuss the upcoming inauguration.
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Mindful Movement & Meditation Session
Date & Time: Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021 | 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm MDT
Employee-Wellbeing sponsors free weekly Mindful Movement & Meditation sessions hosted by Kara Traikoff, DU's Mindfulness Instructor. They will be hosting a virtual session January 20 from 12-1pm, and all DU students, staff, and faculty are welcome to join. This session will help with centering, steadying, and connecting as we approach the Inauguration.
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Inauguration Day: What Can the Biden Administration Hope to Achieve?
Date & Time: Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021 | 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm MDT
The Scrivner Institute of Public Policy and the Center on American Politics are hosting an Inauguration Day discussion of the political and policy outlook facing the Biden administration.
Joseph R. Biden will become the 46th President of the United States on January 20, 2021, in a time of extreme political polarization, democratic decline, health, economic, and climate crises, and geopolitical realignment. A panel of experts on presidential transitions, political rhetoric, domestic policy, and Congress will discuss the policy opportunities and political challenges facing the incoming president and his administration.
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The Cultural Center Post Inauguration Debrief Space
Date & Time: Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021 | 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm MDT
We don’t know about y’all but we will certainly be in our feelings tomorrow! Join the Cultural Center staff tomorrow afternoon for a debrief space.
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Student Drop-in Group Counseling Session
Date & Time: Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021 | 3:30 pm MDT
Counseling Services within the Health and Counseling Center will be offering a virtual Student Drop-in group to support students who want to process events related to the US presidential election and inauguration.
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2021 Diversity Summit Opening Session: The Politics of DEI and the Future of Higher Education
Date & Time: Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021 | 12:45 pm - 2:00 pm MDT
On January 20, 2021, we will witness the transition of executive power in the United States with the inauguration of Joseph R. Biden as the 46th president of the United States. Serving as his is Vice-President is Kamala Harris, the first woman and person of color to serve in this capacity in the history of the nation. As symbols of a pluralistic democracy, President Biden and Vice-President Harris's authority to govern and lead compassionately as well as inclusively was not only questioned, but seriously undermined by decades of dog-whistles, anti-intellectual hostility, and a disdain for diversity and inclusion.
As we reflect over the last year and imagine our near future, how does DU's commitments and values to DEI prepare our community to be critically engaged as leaders in responding to the inequities and indignities created by the current crises of pandemic, protest, and politic?
Featuring:
- Jeremy Haefner, Chancellor
- Mary Clark, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor
- Todd C. Adams, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs
- Jerron Lowe, Interim Vice Chancellor of Human Resources
- Tom Romero, Interim Vice Chancellor of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Learn more & register by navigating to the opening session dropdown
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Revamping Communication: How can we discuss politics to maximize learning and minimize animosity?
Date & Time: Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021 | 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm MDT
Please join the Center on American Politics for their upcoming event. Politics has permeated much of American life. In a society where everything is politicized, even the most mundane conversations can quickly become contentious. Not only does this drive interpersonal animosity and distrust, but also coincides with contention over contrasting factual realities. But is this new state of affairs inevitable? Are there steps we can take, as individuals, to try to combat these new trends? An expert panel of communications scholars and practitioners share their knowledge and experience about how we can avoid animosity and make our discussions more fruitful.
Featuring:
- Katie Knobloch (Colorado State)
- Mathew Levendusky (University of Pennsylvania)
- Julia Minson (Harvard University)
- Michael Neblo (Ohio State)
- Robin Teater (Healthy Democracy, 2016-2020)
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GSSW & Institute for Human-Animal Connection: We Gon’ Be Alright, But That Ain’t Alright: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom
Date & Time: Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021 | 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm MDT
Join us in early February to hear Dr. Bettina L. Love discuss the struggles and possibilities of committing ourselves to an abolitionist goal of educational freedom, as opposed to reform, and moving beyond the educational survival complex. Abolitionist Teaching is built on the creativity, imagination, boldness, ingenuity, and rebellious spirit and methods of abolitionists to demand and fight for an educational system where all students are thriving, not simply surviving. Learn about the importance of culturally responsive and sustaining teaching and learning practices in the classroom, examine the impact of America's racism on Black children and Black families, and how to foster social justice classrooms and schools.
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GSSW: Organize & Advocate: The Work Continues
Date & Time: Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021 | 10:30 am MDT
Civic engagement is a fundamental aspect of a participatory democracy. Research suggests that the motivation and execution of such action comes from civic education - actually knowing how to engage and do so effectively. With the election and inauguration in the rearview mirror, it’s critical that social workers stay engaged in the political process and work towards justice for all.
In this interactive workshop, participants will receive an up-to-date briefing on state and federal policy, and trainings on legislative advocacy and grassroots community organizing. With an opportunity to join breakout sessions based on individual areas of interest, participants will leave with the knowledge and training they need to invest their efforts for maximum impact. -
GSSW: Journeys to Abolition: On the Road to Changing Everything
Date & Time: Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021 | 3:00 pm MDT
The convergence of the COVID-19 pandemic with the enduring issue of state violence has thrust the word “abolition” into mainstream discourses more so in the past year than perhaps any other time. In these discourses, much has been distorted and misunderstood, and the people who are deeply engaged in abolitionist study and practice—predominantly Black, Brown, LGBTQIA+ folx—are not centered.
Our panel brings together students, organizers, and scholars of abolitionist praxis to discuss their personal journeys to, and understandings of, abolition as a philosophy, organizing strategy, and daily practice. This event is an invitation to not only gain clarity around what “abolition” truly means, but to hear firsthand the complexity involved with unlearning the default understandings that separate us and building new ones that bring us closer together.
Resources
Inclusive Teaching Practices
Created in partnership with C+V, OTL invites you to advance your praxis, create dynamic courses, remove barriers to learning, and dismantle oppressive practices by implementing inclusive pedagogies. Explore critical diversity considerations that shape higher education in real-time, read academic articles, visit suggested websites, and watch recommended TED talks and videos. Utilize these resources and materials to best support students and talk through the recent events with them in pedagogically sound ways.
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RadioEd: Violent Extremism: Who Joins and Why
The U.S. faces a growing threat of domestic extremism, embodied by the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. We wanted to know what it actually means to be an extremist. Is a certain type of person drawn to extremism? What convinces someone to join an extremist group? And how might our own friends or neighbors go down that path? Rachel Nielsen is the director of the Colorado Resilience Collaborative, which focuses on combating violent extremism. She sheds some light on these questions and more.
RadioEd: Inauguration Day: Looking Back to Look Ahead
President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday, Jan. 20, will mark the last stop on the transition of power, which has been marked by distrust, misinformation and riots. As he becomes the nation's 46th president, Biden not only faces a deeply divided country but one facing an economic crisis, as well as the deadly coronavirus pandemic. But he’s not the first president to walk such a treacherous path. Noted University of Denver historian Susan Schulten shares some tales from inaugurations past that help us frame and add context to the first days of a new presidency.
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Resolutions for 2021: Expanding Our Political Imaginations & Practicing “Emotional Counterpublics” for Racial Justice
Dr. May Lin, IRISE Postdoctoral Fellow discusses the white supremacist storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6th and reminds us that we cannot merely hope for a return to a “normal” of state-sanctioned violence against BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities. As far too many legislators espouse limited political imagination in their responses to immense suffering, BIPOC-led movements light the way towards a more radically just now and future. Visit below to read the full article.
Additional Articles & Podcasts
American Psychological Association Resources:
- Psychologists Available to Discuss Trauma, Stress, Misinformation in Aftermath of Capitol Riot
- Healing the political divide
- Speaking of Psychology: How to recognize and combat ‘fake news’
- What do we know about conspiracy theories?
- Thrill-seeking, search for meaning fuel political violence
- Speaking of Psychology: How politics became so uncivilized
- Speaking of Psychology: Why America's bitter politics are like a bad marriage
- Politics is personal
- Stress in America 2020: A National Mental Health Crisis
- Self-care resource center
- Managing stress related to political change
For Teachers/Parents:
- How to talk to children about difficult news (APA)
- How To Talk To Kids About The Riots At The U.S. Capitol (NPR)
- How Do You Talk To Kids About The Insurrection In Washington? (Wisconsin Public Radio)
- How to Help Children Emotionally Process Politics and the Election (The Philadelphia Tribune)
- Now’s a Good Time To Talk To Your Kids About Civics (NPR)
- How To Talk to Kids About The Election and Fraught Politics (CNN)
Articles:
- How To Manage Your Mental Health After A Week Of Sadness & Chaos (Yahoo Life)
- Experiencing trauma from storming of U.S. Capitol is normal — even if you weren’t there, experts say (The Denver Post)
- The psychological reason it’s so hard to work today after the riot — and how to cope (CNBC)
Podcasts: