Great Barrington — Bard College at Simon’s Rock recently opened its new Center for Equity, Inclusion, and Community on campus.
According to Sarah Porter-Liddell, Dean of Equity and Inclusion for Simon’s Rock, the building was formally known as “The Owl’s Nest” which was originally a two-floor building that included two dorm rooms, and small spaces for college programs. “But because of the pandemic, no one was watching or looking over this building,” Porter-Liddell said. “When I became the Dean of Equity and Inclusion, my office was located on the far end of the campus, like off of the back parking lot. That felt really weird because I wanted to be in a location central to campus.”
While Porter-Liddell got permission from the college to use the building not only for her office but to create the center, the building needed a lot of work. “We started with painting the entire building, because it was a hodgepodge of different colors for the longest time,” she said. “Some of the rooms were painted black, which made the small rooms seem even tinier than they were. We painted the entire building off white so it felt like it was a much more open space.”
The floor tile throughout the building has been replaced, and there is now formal office furniture in each room, including desks and chairs.
“We had a small budget of $7,200 total, but I think we did as much as possible with what he had,” she said. “The art and books that we have throughout the building were all donated by faculty members, along with staff and students.”
Porter-Liddell said the entire project to renovate the building took four months, from June until early September just before the college opened for this semester.
As a result of the renovations, the building now has offices and spaces where student groups and organizations can formally meet. The first floor includes a conference room along with Porter-Liddell’s office where she can meet with members of the community.
The second floor includes a lounge room, and next door to the lounge is an office that local campus organizations can use for business.
“Anyone on campus is welcome to use this space,” Porter-Liddell said. “While the original emphasis on this space was to have it for our African-American and brown students, along with their affinity organizations, I didn’t want to exclude the rest of the campus from what this space could offer.”
Porter-Liddell said that equity and inclusion are more important than ever in today’s world, and that, with the building, she wanted to create opportunities not only for campus groups to meet together but also to create a space where everyone would feel welcome.
She said that the building will also be the home to future programs that revolve around equity and diversity. “I think that, right now, we live in a political climate of unrest,” she said. “It’s exceedingly important that educational institutions provide spaces where people can learn about equity, but also be comfortable where they’re doing it. The work of the Office of Equity and inclusion extends beyond discussions about race, microaggressions, and implicit bias. We find ways to have conversations with each other. The intricate parts of communication dictate whether or not someone feels comfortable in a community.”
Porter-Liddell said that access to resources, including meeting spaces, is important to making everybody in a community feel welcome. “Equity and inclusion is work that extends to everyone,” she said. “We all have a responsibility for this work. We all also have a moral obligation to treat others fairly.”
The college will be holding its annual Symposium on Social Justice and Inclusion starting on Monday, October 24 until Friday, October 28. Porter-Liddell said that the symposium will include various events including workshops that will engage members of the community on topics of social issues and change.
For more information about the office of Equity and Inclusion contact Porter-Liddell at 413-528-7226 or sporterliddell@simons-rock.edu.
For more information about the symposium go to the college’s website.
