CHARA Takes Action

CHARA’s March meetup focused on updates and action steps related to the areas of interest that the CHARA Planning Squad have collectively identified as priority in advancing anti-racism efforts at Holy Cross.

• CHARA recently reconnected with student Jaime Perez ’22, who provided the planning squad with some feedback on the climate circle held on 2.23.2022 following an incidence of racist graffiti in Carlin, as well as a derogatory Zoom disruption on a recent DEI call. Maria was able to share some of Jaime’s feedback with the group during the meetup. Approximately 100 faculty and students attended the climate circle. The sentiment seemed to be that while events like this are important, they need to be more of a regular part of the HC culture in order for perspectives to be shared and change to be impacted – it needs to be less performative and more “real”. Jaime is coordinating time for HC’s DEI group to connect with CHARA’s planning squad in the next few weeks to make introductions.

• During the February meetup, we explored HC’s 40-point Anti-Racism Action plan, and participants identified areas where they thought CHARA could be of most support. During a planning session following the February meetup, a committee of CHARA members began the work of drafting a letter to Dr. Tomicka Wagstaff, HC’s newly appointed Associate DEI Provost.  The intent of the letter is to provide further context around CHARA’s mission and to share our thoughts on how we might best support efforts as they relate to the college’s anti-racism efforts. Nick Aieta, 92’, offered background and an overview of the letter, with some initial thoughts on how to circulate the letter and gain signatures from our group. 

• We were thrilled to have Dr. Tomicka Wagstaff log on for this month’s call. Dr. Wagstaff shared her excitement to be at Holy Cross and her vision to “ignite change in the culture and climate”. She indicated that real change was a journey which happens over time and that there was a lot of motivation to see it happen. Alumni were excited at theprospect of Dr. Wagstaff leading such strong work at Holy Cross, and we reiterated our intent to support every step of the way.

• In the final part of the meeting, Amy provided an overview of the areas of interest identified by the planning squad where CHARA members could get further involved and take action. These areas include:

  • Service

  • Advocacy

  • Membership

  • Public Relations

  • Finance

Each of these areas was discussed in individual breakout sessions. Participants were invited to join the breakout of the topic that spoke most passionately to them.  Each group recorded some key takeaways that could continue to be explored as next steps.

• Service

  • opportunity to work directly with students, to mentor those coming into a profession, etc.

• Advocacy

  • should be about everyone connected to the college and the local community; opportunity to advocate for many populations (alumni, faculty, students, community); make positive change and uplift

• Membership

  • opportunity to go more broad since there’s a significant number of people that don’t yet know about CHARA; how get we can people engaged, other than in monthly meetings?

• Public Relations

  • what do PR efforts look like for this group? Can we focus on helping drum up support with a positive, teamwork approach, rather than focusing on more specific incidents on campus?

• Finance

  • What opportunities exist for fundraising for CHARA and for Holy Cross? What specific causes can be supported like BSU Opportunity Fund and Bishop Healy? Further, explore these resources – using social media as a way to penetrate more alumni