First Year Experience

First-Year Experience stands in solidarity with our Black students. We are listening and we are here for you.

Our heart breaks for the families and friends who are grieving the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and other Black lives that were stolen from us.

Saying this is not enough. We must pair our thoughts with actions.

Our office has six guiding principles for helping students find a sense of belonging at SUNY Oswego. Again, we know that words are not enough. Here is what we are doing based on two of our guiding principles:

Inclusion, Diversity, & Equity

• Partnering with our Office of Diversity and Inclusion  to help inform our commitment to social justice and anti-racism work
• Selecting academic journals, resources, and books written by black authors and scholars to use in first-year courses
• Making inclusion, diversity, and equity activities a cornerstone of "College Orientation and Success" (GST 100)
• Elevating stories of our black students and students of color on @firstyearsofoz 

Social & Personal Responsibility

• Engaging white first-year faculty and student Success Coaches in summer conversations about privilege and anti-racism work
• Calling-out racism and calling-in colleagues and students to have constructive conversations about privilege and systemic racism in our world and on our campus
• Protecting and creating spaces for black students' voices-- on social media, in classrooms, and through programming
• Acknowledging (as a largely white staff), that we will make mistakes along the way. We will still do this work.

Black students and students of color: we are here to listen and support. You matter to us.

White students: I hope you will join us in our commitment to making our corner of the world better for your black peers. There are some starting resources on our saved Intagram story and a guide by Victoria Alexander here.

Peace and Solidarity,
Mallory Bower, First Year Experience Coordinator