SUNY New Paltz Listens: A Conversation About Race, Wednesday, June 24

Inviting students, faculty and staff to the first in a series of town hall dialogues; Pre-registration is required

The Student Association and campus leadership invite students and other members of the campus community to a town hall conversation on race on Wednesday, June 24, at 4:30 p.m. via Webex.

Pre-registration is required to attend this virtual town hall event. Use this link to register. Only those with a newpaltz.edu email address will be able to register. We will include alumni and community members in future conversations. 

Attendance will be capped at 125 participants, to prevent lag or other issues with the Webex video conferencing platform and to allow participants to have an opportunity to speak. This town hall will be the first in a series, so those who are unable to participate on June 24 will have future opportunities to have their voices heard.

The conversation will be moderated by Esther Joseph ’20 (Political Science; International Relations), the outgoing Student Senate Chair. Panelists will include:

• Donald Christian, President
• Taijah Pink ’20 ’22g (Humanistic-Multicultural Education), President of the SUNY New Paltz Student Association
• Tanhena Pacheco Dunn, Associate Vice President for Human Resources, Diversity & Inclusion, and Chief Diversity Officer
• Stephanie Blaisdell, Vice President for Student Affairs
• Mary Ritayik, Chief of University Police
• Barbara Lyman, Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

The purpose of the town hall is to allow campus community members – especially students – to share their thoughts, experiences and concerns with campus leaders. The panelists will answer questions, but their primary goals are to listen and to learn.

The Student Association and campus leadership are encouraging encouraging participants to submit questions for the panelists in advance. Submit your questions using this Google Form.

The following ground rules will be in effect during these town hall conversations:

• Please speak from your own knowledge and experience.
• Practice reflective listening and be respectful of your fellow participants.
• Please keep comments or sharing to two or three minutes, to allow as many people as possibly an opportunity to speak.
• For some, this conversation can be healing; for others, it can bring trauma. We encourage participants to practice self-care. If at any time you think you would like help to process, please type that in the comment box and we can connect you with one of the members of the Diversity & Inclusion Council, who will be on standby to assist and support.