An Apology to all past and current BIPOC SU Drama Students:
We recognize that for many BIPOC students, change has taken far too long, has not come quick enough and has not gone far enough. We are committed to action, and to meaningful systemic change. We hope that the information shared here demonstrates that action has been ongoing since our receipt of the Call to Action.
The following apology was approved by the SU Drama faculty on September 29, 2020. As befits a statement of this importance, it has since then been undergoing thorough review by all necessary personnel and offices, to ensure that the final statement is one that we can all fully stand behind and to which we can be held accountable.
On June 15, 2020, a public Call to Action was issued to us by alumni and current students to address pervasive structural racism in the department. That call generously and bravely included ten specific testimonials of the harm done by faculty to BIPOC (and especially Black) students during their training, and twenty action steps aimed at helping faculty recognize this harm and prevent it from happening again.
The faculty would like to apologize to its BIPOC alumni and current students.
We know that the testimonials received are only a few selected instances of a larger problem. Through them, we have seen and heard that we and the education we delivered: upheld bias towards whiteness in our curriculum and measures of success; promoted stereotypes and prejudice in our approaches to BIPOC actors and stories; and – because of our power to hold audience in a classroom, determine grades and disseminate artistic opportunities – upheld a model of training that inflicted emotional and artistic harm on BIPOC students. Through both action and inaction, we clearly made BIPOC students feel both individually and collectively invisible, and we required of them more work than we required of white students to meet the needs of a predominantly white curriculum, while simultaneously affording them fewer opportunities. For all of this, we apologize.
We also apologize for our failure to address these problems sooner. In our inaction, we leaned further into our own privilege. We failed to hold each other accountable, and we created a situation in which those who experienced racial trauma then had to relive it, in order to bring it again to our attention and suggest a plan for change.
Neither collective nor individual apologies can undo the pain of your experience. We are mindful that changes made now, and in the future, will yield benefits that cannot be enjoyed by those who are calling us to action at present. We honor that fact by amplifying our commitment to meaningful change.
We, as both individual members of the faculty and as a department overall, have a long way to go to achieve the potential you see in us. We understand that the acceptance of this apology may be contingent on our fulfilment of those commitments that we have already made, and those that we will continue to make. We thank you for the difficult work you undertook to call us to action.
We commit to a transparent and ongoing process. To that end, we have created this page and will publish regular updates here as additional steps are taken.
Respectfully yours,
The SU Drama Faculty
Please note that at its end-of-year retreat, the faculty passed nine motions related to Call to Action responses. Those can be viewed here.
Specific demands in the Call to Action have been addressed as follows:
Demand #1: A complete reorganization of Senior Showcase, in which all graduating senior performance majors are given the opportunity to participate and have a voice in the creation, rehearsal process, and production of Showcase.
Immediately agreed to upon receipt of the Call to Action. The 2021 Showcase will be available for viewing as of April 12, 2021 at www.SyracuseShowcase.com.
Demand #2: Faculty will undergo Implicit Bias, Equity and Diversity training.
Immediately agreed to upon receipt of the Call to Action.
During the Drama Faculty Zoom Retreat (August 18-20), 8 of 12 hours were devoted to workshops on: Decolonizing the Syllabus; Creating Transparent Assignments; Addressing Micro & Macro Aggression and Body Shaming in the Classroom. These were led by the Center for Learning and Teaching Excellence and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
Throughout the course of the academic year, many faculty members participated in one or more of the following training opportunities: Anti-Racist Theater Training (Nicole Brewer); Voices Matter – Why You Need to Talk About Race (Chandice Haste-Jackson & Jeff Mangram); Student/Faculty Dialogue Circle About Race (El-Hindi Center for Dialogue, InterFaith Works and Office of Diversity and Inclusion).
The department is developing ongoing faculty training(s) in partnership with the Office of Faculty Affairs, the Center for Learning and Teaching Excellence and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
Demand #3: Hiring an Intimacy Director.
We have established intimacy direction as a best practice for all productions that occur in our facility (Drama, Stage, Black Box Players, student projects, etc.). We have hired someone with expertise in intimacy direction to be one of the four acting teachers in Core and to teach a unit in all sections Sophomore level scene study. He has introduced fundamental exercises in consent and working with scene partners. We hope to expand on the curricular integration of this work in the years ahead.
Demand #4: Abolishing the phrase “colorblind casting” from the department’s vernacular.
Immediately agreed to upon receipt of the Call to Action.
Demand #5: Any and all forms of media that perpetuate racist stereotypes can no longer be used for promotional purposes for the Department of Drama.
Immediately agreed to upon receipt of the Call to Action.
Demand #6: Hiring an Accountability and Student Experience Representative. This person must be an outside hire to establish true neutrality and accountability.
While the hiring of an additional paid position is beyond the means of the department or the college, especially in light of current hiring freezes and budget restrictions, we are exploring all possible avenues for addressing the underlying concerns as swiftly and effectively as possible.
Dean Tick and Ralph Zito put the Call to Action Leadership in contact with the co-chairs of VPA’s Committee on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Drs. Milton Laufer and Carol Ruffin. They are currently in the process of defining the mission, scope, composition, and bylaws of the VPA DEI Committee. With regard to their ability to be of assistance in responding to the Call to Action, at this point they are working with all concerned to develop a role for themselves that is centered on communication and facilitation, but not engaged in adjudication.
Please see Motions 1, 4, and 5 here, as approved by the faculty on May 19, 2021.
Additional avenues for addressing the underlying concerns will be part of our ongoing response to the Call to Action.
Demand #7: Creating appropriate policies and accommodations for Black students’ hair & makeup needs in department productions. Hairdressers should be educated in styling all types of hair textures.
Agreed and underway. All relevant members of the Production Department and Costume Shop staff have taken a workshop with Jerrilyn Lanier-Duckworth. Appropriate personnel have been in contact with shop managers at peer theater institutions to gather information from them about resources and best practices. We continue to be in contact with local salons to develop working relationships. We have established policies and practices for internal use and for the employment of guest artists for our productions. The department has committed the necessary resources to adequately support our Black students via the purchase or rental of necessary hair and makeup supplies. We will also address this concern via the theater design and technology curriculum, using the above workshop as a foundation for curricular change/expansion.
Demand #8: The department will host more masterclasses with BIPOC professionals from outside Syracuse University.
Agreed. Of 34 guest artist/guest instructor/class visitor requests approved for Fall 2020, 31 of them were for artists who identify as BIPOC. All guest artist/guest instructor/class visitor requests approved for Spring 2022 were for artists who identify as BIPOC.
Demand #9: The student Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Representative candidates will undergo an interview process and application before they are approved to run for this position. The current EDI Rep will head this committee, with the new Accountability and Student Experience Representative assisting as needed.
We are happy to support this in any way we can, although the faculty’s role in Student Rep elections has generally been minimal and advisory, with a view towards avoiding infractions of University policy.
This demand has been directed to the current Student Reps, as most processes related to Student Reps/student leadership are up to Student Reps and the student body. Drs. Laufer and Ruffin (see #6 above) assisted current Reps with the election process this year.
Student EDI concerns have been brought forward and addressed through the course of the Spring 2022 via a variety of channels (Reps, Deputies, Stage Managers). However, the EDI Rep position is currently vacant.
Demand #10: A wider selection of scenes written by BIPOC playwrights must be made available to students as Sophomore Evaluation options.
Agreed. Program Area faculty have completed this revision with student input, and are developing a mechanism for regular updating.
Demand #11: An investigation and swift removal of faculty who are guilty of initiating and encouraging racial micro and macro aggressions, cultural appropriation, and verbal abuse against BlPOC students.
All matters related to faculty conduct have been referred to the appropriate offices, including Equal Opportunity, Inclusion and Resolution Services and the Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs.
Demand #12: Any faculty member who is removed for engaging in any of the aforementioned actions will be replaced by a BIPOC hire. The overall numbers for BIPOC faculty must be 50% of the Department of Drama faculty by 2025.
Diversification of the faculty is a shared goal. Prior to undertaking four faculty searches this year (three in design/tech, one in musical theater dance), the faculty reviewed and revised its practices and procedures related to the conceiving, advertising, and reviewing of position descriptions and applications. This revision was undertaken with consultation from colleagues in the School of Education and the Faculty Affairs Office. The goals of the revision included expanding and increasing the diversity of our applicant pool, correcting for implicit bias, and centering Diversity and Inclusion as core values in the search and hiring process.
Our initial applicant and finalist pools were noticeably more diverse than they have been in prior years, and 75% of our full-time hires for the coming academic year are faculty of color. This means that for the 2021-22 Academic Year, five out of 21 full-time faculty positions (23.8%) will be filled by members of the Global Majority, as compared to three out of 19 (15.8%) during the 2019-20 Academic Year.
Of nine finalists interviewed for the four positions, five were candidates from the Global Majority. The two tenure-track positions in design/tech were successfully filled by Global Majority candidates. While we were unable to successfully fill the tenure-track position in musical theater dance, a candidate from the Global Majority has accepted a full-time renewable term appointment, as the program faculty take time to assess next steps. The final position (an assistant teaching professorship in design/tech) has been successfully filled by a white candidate.
Demand #13: Faculty will be required to provide structure and transparency in their grading process to their students.
Since this should already be happening, any cases where it is not will require action on the part of department leadership (chair and program coordinators) to develop and implement appropriate and effective mechanisms of guidance, communication, accountability, and redress.
Demand #14: The selection and casting of department productions will be made on the basis of best practices to serve the student body as a whole, regardless of the artistic ambition of the faculty or guest director. Core cultural, sexual, or gender identities of marginalized students will not present a barrier to casting opportunities.
Agreed. We are in the process of fundamentally reimagining these processes, as well as redefining their goals and redistributing resources (financial, physical, and human) in the pursuit of those goals.
Wherever possible, we will strive to take immediate actions, if we can do so in a way that is transparent, responsible, and in full consideration of student needs and feedback. At the same time, we understand that there are deeper causes that need to be addressed at the system level.
Working in collaboration with current Student Reps, we solicited input from the entire student body as we worked to narrow the range of titles under consideration and finalize the Fall 2021 shows. For our most recent round of casting, interim processes were implemented to incorporate student core identity concerns, content concerns, and learning goals into the casting process for Fall 2021 shows. We will continue to expand and evolve practices that center authentic and identity-conscious casting, and to build production practices that center the needs and interests of students.
The selection process for the Spring 2022 portion of the season is still underway, and is proceeding from increased student input in response to communication from currently enrolled students.
Please see Motions 2, 6, 8 and 9 here, as approved by the faculty on May 19, 2021.
Demand #15: An anti-racist curriculum and syllabus review system at the beginning of each semester to ensure a range of diversity in the theatrical material being assigned across all majors. This includes but is not limited to acting scenework, design/tech assignments, and musical theater songs.
The faculty are ready and willing to engage in this process openly and voluntarily, and based on the work done at our August 2020 retreat, have already begun to take actions in response to this concern.
In addition to the voluntary steps already undertaken, in October a faculty task force revised all relevant catalog course descriptions (approximately 100 total courses) in order to explicitly mandate an emphasis on inclusive course material. Those revisions were approved by the faculty in November and will be in effect for the 2021-22 academic year.
A second task force – which includes mandated consultation with alumni and students – has begun work on deeper curricular revisions that might include adding, removing, substantially revising, and/or reordering curricular requirements.
In the continued interest of setting clear expectations, it is important to bear in mind that this is an area where – absent official curricular reform, which can take one to two years – the principle of academic freedom places limits on the extent to which changes to syllabi or curricula can be externally compelled.
Demand #16: If one or more students decline casting in a department show, or later drop out during rehearsals due to a race-related incident, the show must be immediately put on hold and put under review by the EDI Rep and the Accountability and Student Experience Representative.
The faculty fully support the intent here. Further discussion is ongoing among faculty, students, the Call to Action Leadership, and current students as we clarify expectations and mechanisms/processes for developing an effective response.
Demand #17: More effective forums than “Town Halls” will be instated for BIPOC students to share their experiences and voice their concerns about racism and discrimination within the department.
Agreed. The faculty welcome discussion/input from alumni and students about what those forums might look like.
Demand #18: Commitment to diversifying the student body by providing greater accessibility for prospective students from marginalized communities to apply and audition.
The faculty shares this goal with the Call to Action Leadership and all alumni and students who have expressed this concern.
We moved to an all-digital audition process this year. While the immediate motivation for this change was COVID-related safety, we embraced the opportunity to increase access and reduce our application fees for the current application cycle. These are the first among many steps we can take.
Demand #19: Establishing financial aid and scholarships specifically for BIPOC.
The faculty and the College of Visual and Performing Arts share the goal of increasing diversity within the drama department and college and creating more opportunities for BIPOC students.
The VPA Office of Advancement understands that the establishment of scholarships in the Department of Drama targeted for underrepresented students is our number one fundraising priority, as it has been for many years. On December 16, 2020 the department announced the creation of the Felix E. Cochren Jr. Memorial Scholarship to promote a more diverse student body in the drama department.
All aid is administered centrally, and the department’s role is generally limited to advice and advocacy. The Financial Aid Office has been willing to hear department requests for increased aid and has made a good faith effort to meet them.
We look forward to working in partnership with both Advancement and Financial Aid to build on this foundation.
Current SU Drama Black Performance Major Demands Link
Demand #1A: Hire a Black professor in the acting faculty by the 2021-2022 year.
This needs to be someone who can either teach voice/verse or scene study in addition to a drama literature course.
In Spring 2020, the University paused faculty hiring due to the uncertainties around the potential impact of the global coronavirus pandemic. The University has since restarted faculty hiring on a limited basis, including hiring under the cluster hire initiative, the diversity opportunity hiring initiative, and in very limited cases regular replacement hires. The current pause in University hiring could prevent an immediate full-time hire. In the interim, the department commits to pursuing opportunity hires of Black visiting or part-time instructors (local or remote) to fill the equivalent full-time course load (6 courses) beginning with the 2021-22 academic year, and continuing until such time as full-time hires can be made. Opportunity hires were also sought for some courses in the Spring 2021 semester.
Demand #1B: Add a Black scene study class for juniors and seniors taught by Black acting faculty.
This class can be counted as [DRA] 320, Upper-level Acting, or drama literature. This course should be able to be repeated multiple times by students.
This course will be added to the curriculum during the 2021-2022 academic year as a topics course. Course regularization will follow established procedure thereafter.
Demand #2: Each year 40% of both the entering Acting and Musical Theatre class needs to be POC.
If we are a world class program preparing students to work in NYC where the POC population is over 55% and LA where the POC population is over 45%, we need the department to reflect that.
We need complete transparency about the admissions process.
The department needs to play a more prominent role in who is admitted.
We all share these goals: increased diversity of the entering classes; an increased role for the department in the admissions process; and transparency. We are committed to working with the Office of Enrollment and the Student Experience on all counts so that these goals can be reached.
On November 6, 2020 the department arranged for a meeting among currently enrolled Black students, key members of the Office of Enrollment and the Student Experience (including Vice President for Enrollment Services Ryan Williams, Dean of Admissions Maurice Harris, and Associate Dean of Admissions Nancy Machles Rothschild), and Dean Tick. This meeting provided an opportunity for students to directly express their concerns and to have their questions answered.
During the current admissions cycle, department faulty worked with currently enrolled students to offer information sessions and other opportunities directly aimed at increasing the diversity of the incoming class.
Demand #3: One spot in the mainstage season needs to be left for a play written by a playwright of color that is for the consumption of POCs.
Create a committee of students of color who can ensure that the play is not chosen for the white gaze and that it is fitting for the students of color currently in the program. Students will provide 3-5 mainstage options for this specific spot in the season. This committee and all future student committees doing consulting work for the department need to be paid.
In shows which are not written for actors of color, POCs SHOULD STILL BE CONSIDERED but should be cast consciously. Typically Black people have been cast as:
Token roles written specifically for Black people
Slaves and maids
Small speaking parts with little to no development
Black people enduring the traumas of colonization and racism
Agreed to as stated in 3A and 3B above, pending any and all necessary approval of compensating students for committee work (via stipend, honorarium, or other means), and with the additional request that faculty be required to offer titles for consideration by the student committee, so that the responsibility for doing the necessary work does not fall entirely to students of color.
Department faculty are currently in conversation with currently enrolled Black students in order to find a mutually agreeable interim option to meet the spirit of this demand for the 2021-22 season, since administrative considerations above the department level prevented the timely formation of the committee.
The department is undertaking an ongoing revision of its casting and season selection procedures in order to remedy the harms addressed in B above. For the upcoming round of casting, interim processes are being implemented to incorporate student core identity concerns, content concerns, and learning goals into the casting process for Fall 2021 shows. We will continue to expand and evolve practices that center authentic and identity-conscious casting, and to build production practices that center the needs and interests of students.
Please see Motions 1, 2, 6, 8, and 9 here, as approved by the faculty on May 19, 2021.
Demand #4: Conversations about race need to be a part of initial table work and scene work whether or not race explicitly affects the world of the play.
A. Race is an integral part of the human experience (including the white experience and white privilege). To not evaluate it and its effects is inauthentic to the experiences which a Black actor (or any actor) brings to the world of the play.
Fully agreed to as stated above, with the additional requirement that, for department productions, an appropriately knowledgeable facilitator (e.g., dramaturg, theater historian, historian, sociologist, etc.) be brought in to work with the director and company to guide the conversation. The department also will continue to engage in ongoing training in this area for all faculty.
Integration of appropriately facilitated conversations became part of the department’s practice for all productions that began rehearsal following the receipt of these demands.
Please see Motion 6 here, as approved by the faculty on May 19, 2021.
Demand #5: In all course levels, Black students should have the opportunity to play three dimensional Black characters written by Black playwrights. White students are consistently playing three-dimensional characters which are written for them by someone like them.
The 2nd year voice/verse emphasis on white playwrights leaves no room for POC authors. (Example: Shakespeare/RP/Gen Am, Shakespeare/Chekhov/RP, etc.)
Black students need the opportunity to be instructed in Black American, African, and Caribbean dialects by a Black professor.
All scene studies should include a survey asking students what their desired learning objectives for the semester are. Black students should be allowed to request only Black scenes (by Black authors).
Fully agreed to as stated above. Implementation began with the spring 2021 semester, and has become a regular part of the department’s curricular and planning process.
Demand #6: Either remove the preselection of studio classes for 2nd year students so students can choose their studio classes OR create a pre-registration performance consultation process where the students, their advisor, and a panel of teachers speak about how the courses which were selected will most benefit the student’s training in the coming semesters.
This review would occur at the end of the 1st year and the middle of the 1st semester of the 2nd year.
When a student receives their selections, they are given the course syllabus so that they can discern whether the class fits their individual goals.
On the syllabus the professor needs to list the material they have used in class over their last five years at SU, so that students of color can avoid teachers who have chosen not to use material by playwrights of color.
The cessation of the sophomore level pre-selection process, beginning with the registration for spring 2021 classes, is fully agreed to. Additionally, the Curriculum Task Force is considering further recommendations to improve communication, clarity, and transparency with regard to syllabi and course materials.
Demand #7: All Black students participating in SU Drama and Syracuse Stage productions will be provided with healthy options to style their hair, including wigs and natural styles.
The expense of this will be included in the productions’ costume and hair budget.
It is the department’s responsibility to educate themselves on the proper hair care needs for their Black students.
Agreed and underway. All relevant members of the Production Department and Costume Shop staff have taken a workshop with Jerrilyn Lanier-Duckworth. Appropriate personnel have been in contact with shop managers at peer theater institutions to gather information from them about resources and best practices. We continue to be in contact with local salons to develop working relationships. We have established policies and practices for internal use and for the employment of guest artists for our productions. The department has committed the necessary resources to adequately support our Black students via the purchase or rental of necessary hair and makeup supplies. We will also address this concern via the theater design and technology curriculum, using the above workshop as a foundation for curricular change/expansion.
A response from the appropriate administrators and faculty must be provided by the end of the day on Monday, October 5th. Additionally a date must be provided within the following 3 weeks, when the appropriate parties can speak with the Black upperclassmen about how these demands will be implemented by the 2021-2022 school year.
Signed responses were delivered on October 5, 2021 and the first in a series of meetings (see timeline) was held on October 23, 2021.
Finally, it must be acknowledged that, while these demands are being presented by the current Black performance upperclassmen, this is just a starting point. Therefore, these demands can and should be adjusted and/or destroyed by future Black performance majors due to their needs and experiences within the department.
Understood and agreed to.
Current SU Drama Black Non-Performance Major Demands Link
Demand #1: Hire BIPOC professors in all three non-performance areas by 2025.
One of the current openings in the Design faculty must be filled by a Black professor by the 2021-2022 year.
One of the current openings in the Design faculty must be filled by a WOC professor by the 2021-2022 year.
These professors in Stage Management and Design must be eligible to advise students on show assignments.
We all share the goal of diversifying the faculty in all programs of study within the department, expanding upon the history of faculty diversity that had existed in the theater design and technology program for well over 20 years. Although we cannot promise that our efforts will be successful, we commit to using University hiring initiatives (as described below) and our best efforts to achieve these shared goals.
In Spring 2020, the University paused faculty hiring due to the uncertainties around the potential impact of the global coronavirus pandemic. The University has since restarted faculty hiring on a limited basis, including hiring under the cluster hire initiative, the diversity opportunity hiring initiative, and in very limited cases regular replacement hires. Although the current pause in University hiring could prevent an immediate full-time hire, the department and the college have established the hiring of a tenure-track position in theater design and technology as a top priority. In the interim, the department commits to pursuing opportunity hires of visiting or part-time instructors (local or remote) to teach courses in all three nonperformance programs (theater design and technology, stage management, and theater management) beginning with the 2021-22 academic year, and continuing until such time as full-time hires can be made. Opportunity hires will also be sought for some courses in the Spring 2021 semester.
Prior to undertaking four faculty searches this year (three in design/tech, one in musical theater dance), the faculty reviewed and revised its practices and procedures related to the conceiving, advertising, and reviewing of position descriptions and applications. This revision was undertaken with consultation from colleagues in the School of Education and the Faculty Affairs Office. The goals of the revision included expanding and increasing the diversity of our applicant pool, correcting for implicit bias, and centering Diversity and Inclusion as core values in the search and hiring process.
Although all searches are currently ongoing, overall our initial applicant and finalist pools are noticeably more diverse than they have been in prior years.
Demand #2: All faculty must be required to participate in anti-racism training at least once a semester which addresses systemic oppression in higher education and/or the arts.
All current faculty must complete one anti-racism course by the end of the spring 2021 semester.
During the Drama Faculty Zoom Retreat (August 18-20), 8 of 12 hours were devoted to workshops on: Decolonizing the Syllabus; Creating Transparent Assignments; Addressing Micro & Macro Aggression and Body Shaming in the Classroom. These were led by the Center for Learning and Teaching Excellence and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
Throughout the course of the academic year, many faculty members participated in one or more of the following training opportunities: Anti-Racist Theater Training (Nicole Brewer); Voices Matter – Why You Need to Talk About Race (Chandice Haste-Jackson & Jeff Mangram); Student/Faculty Dialogue Circle About Race (El-Hindi Center for Dialogue, InterFaith Works).
The department is developing ongoing faculty training(s) in partnership with the Office of Faculty Affairs, the Center for Learning and Teaching Excellence and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
Consistent with University practice regarding faculty training, we envision that training will occur annually, rather than on a per semester basis.
Demand #3: See demand 3 on the performance major demands list: Students will be incorporated into the play selection process for each season, all shows must be vetted by a student committee to ensure no content is racially insensitive and is appropriate for the education of the students in the department.
This committee must consist of at least 50% BIPOC students.
There must be representation from all majors on this committee.
The positions on this committee must be paid or available as for-credit theater management internships.
With the acknowledgement that the responsibility and accountability for the play selection process rests with the faculty, we welcome the opportunity to expand upon the agreements made with performance majors, and to include student voices as described in 3A and 3B above. Item 3C above is agreed to, pending any and all necessary approval of compensating students for committee work (via stipend, honorarium, or other means) or providing for-credit internships.
Department faculty are currently in conversation with currently enrolled Black students in order to find a mutually agreeable interim option to meet the spirit of this demand for the 2021-22 season, since administrative considerations above the department level prevented the timely formation of the committee.
The department is undertaking an ongoing revision of its casting and season selection procedures in order to remedy the harms addressed in B above. For the upcoming round of casting, interim processes were implemented to incorporate student core identity concerns, content concerns, and learning goals into the casting process for Fall 2021 shows. We will continue to expand and evolve practices that center authentic and identity-conscious casting, and to build production practices that center the needs and interests of students.
Please see Motions 1, 2, 6, 8, and 9 here, as approved by the faculty on May 19, 2021.
Demand #4: At least two BIPOC guest speakers will be brought in per semester to speak with students in each non-performance area.
One member of faculty for each area will take responsibility for this to ensure accountability and transparency
This needs to begin as soon as this semester
While fiscal or logistical limitations may prevent the participation of a total of 6 speakers (2 per program) per semester, we agree in principle to the need for an increased number of BIPOC guest speakers in the nonperformance areas. We commit to ensuring a balance of area-specific guests and nonperformance professionals whose experience and expertise will be of value to all nonperformance majors.
Of 34 guest artist/guest instructor/class visitor requests approved in the department for Fall 2020, 31 of them were for artists who identify as BIPOC. All guest artist/guest instructor/class visitor requests approved for Spring 2022 were for artists who identify as BIPOC.
Demand #5: One play/book studied in each course must be written by a BIPOC author/playwright to provide a variety of perspectives and increase the skills of students in working with BIPOC artists.
Materials should be chosen on the basis of will this teach us a new perspective?
In the design area this material should include books and materials on how to design for BIPOC performers
We agree with the goal of providing a variety of perspectives in the classroom, and increasing the skills of students in working with BIPOC artists.
In addition to the voluntary steps already undertaken, in October a faculty task force revised all relevant catalog course descriptions (approximately 100 total courses) in order to explicitly mandate an emphasis on inclusive course material. Those revisions will be in effect for the 2021-22 academic year.
A second task force – which includes mandated consultation with alumni and students – has begun work on deeper curricular revisions that might include adding, removing, substantially revising, and/or reordering curricular requirements.
In the continued interest of setting clear expectations, it is important to bear in mind that this is an area where – absent official curricular reform, which can take one to two years – the principle of academic freedom places limits on the extent to which changes to syllabi or curricula can be externally compelled. We commit to a diversification of course materials to the extent that such diversification does not either exceed the limits of the existing NYSED-approved curriculum, nor impinge upon academic freedom.
Demand #6: Syllabi will be revised to incorporate anti-racism into the curriculum.
Anti-racism in management
How to design for BIPOC actors (costume,hair, make-up, lighting)
In all non-performance intro classes (DRM 194, DRD 141, DRM 251) there must be a unit on anti-racism and calling out racism in the rehearsal room. This unit needs to be taught by a BIPOC professor
We agree with the goal of equipping stage managers, designers, and managers with the tools to respond to discrimination and to foster anti-racist work environments. As stated in #5 above, the faculty has already planned to undertake a thorough curricular review over the course of the coming nine months. To ensure full curricular support for this goal, we will work to specify which courses this will apply to and how.
Demand #7: There will be increased transparency and clarity around how to report discrimination and the steps that the department will take to ensure no further harm is done.
Any faculty member credibly accused of discrimination will immediately have their directing privileges revoked until they complete further anti-bias training.
Allegations of discrimination made to production or stage management must be brought to the Department Chair either by the production manager or the appropriate student representative.
A student oversight board will be instated to oversee the disciplinary process of faculty and students who are accused of discrimination in any form.
This committee will be kept up to date (with-in legal bounds) about the disciplinary process of all active discrimination allegations in the department of drama.
This is only meant to create accountability and not push responsibility to the students on the board.
We commit to fully educating the Department community about existing procedures and resources, including – but not limited to – The Dean of Students Office; The Equal Opportunity, Inclusion and Resolution Services Office; The Office of Diversity and Inclusion; and the VPA Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. Although it is beyond the scope of authority of the faculty, the Chair, or the Dean to establish new oversight or disciplinary processes for faculty or students, we nonetheless hold ourselves accountable for seeing to it that any concerns brought to our attention are referred to the appropriate offices and addressed by them to the fullest possible extent.
Please see Motion 5 here, as approved by the faculty on May 19, 2021.
Demand #8: Each year there needs to be 40% BIPOC students in the entering non-performance class. The department must also actively seek to retain the BIPOC students currently in the program.
There needs to be increased transparency in the admissions process
The department will identify the point(s) within the admissions process that have the largest impact on BIPOC student representation and come up with a clearly defined plan of action to deal with these issues.
The department will actively create an environment that retains BIPOC students
Acknowledging that grades have real world consequences for students on scholarships.
Anti-racist curriculum, BIPOC faculty and advisors, and everything mentioned above.
We all share the goals of increased diversity of the entering classes and increased retention of BIPOC students, as well as transparency. We are committed to working with the Office of Enrollment and the Student Experience on all counts so that these goals can be reached.
On November 6, 2020 the department arranged for a meeting among currently enrolled Black students, key members of the Office of Enrollment and the Student Experience (including Vice President for Enrollment Services Ryan Williams, Dean of Admissions Maurice Harris, and Associate Dean of Admissions Nancy Machles Rothschild), and Dean Tick. This meeting provided an opportunity for students to directly express their concerns and to have their questions answered.
During the current admissions cycle, department faculty worked with currently enrolled students to offer information sessions and other opportunities directly aimed at increasing the diversity of the incoming class.
A response from the appropriate administrators and faculty must be provided by the end of the day Monday, October 12th. Additionally a date must be provided within the following 3 weeks when the appropriate parties can speak with the Black students about how these demands will be implemented by the 2021-22 school year.
Signed responses were delivered on October 14, 2021 (with periodic updates as to the progress of the responses delivered October 11 -13). A meeting was held on October 28, 2021.
Finally, these demands are not meant to be a permanent solution to the issue of anti-Blackness in the department of drama but rather a starting point for future Black non-performance majors to build from or eliminate as they see fit.