Documents

Our first Climate Survey Report explored feelings of belonging at UMass, and how foundational it is to individuals’ overall well being and success. This report, centered on Connection and Friendships, digs a bit deeper into the relationships we have on the campus–both with the institution, and with one another. These connections shape our access to resources for success, how valued and supported we feel, how closely tied we are to the wider community, and often, the degree to which we are able to engage with diversity.

The years following the 2016 Campus Climate Survey saw a significant level of polarization across communities in the U.S., and the effects of that polarization were felt on this campus as well. For the 2021 survey we introduced a series of questions to better understand the relationships that people had with those of different backgrounds and identities; to provide a glimpse into whether and how people bridge common (and often politicized) social divides. One observable trend showed that members of underrepresented groups were generally more likely to have friends from different social backgrounds, while identity groups with greater campus representation tended toward greater homogeneity in their social circles.

We hope you find this toolkit informative and instructive as you seek to understand, reflect upon, and respond to this data on connectedness and friendships at UMass.

WEB VERSION

HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED AN INCIDENT OF MISTREATMENT, BIAS OR DISCRIMINATION?

If so, there are resources available for immediate care & offices to address these issues:

• OEI guides UMass efforts related to diversity, equity, & inclusion, and handles climate incident reports.
• EOA administers the UMass policy against discrimination, harassment, and related inter- personal violence.
• Title IX oversees policy and processes prohibiting gender-based discrimination.
• OMBUDS provides resolution services for conflicts and concerns. Confidential appts available by phone, videoconference, or in person.
• SCCS responds to student conduct referrals alleging violations of the Code of Student Conduct.

CCPH

(Center for Counseling & Psychological Health)
(413) 545-2337

24/7 Sexual Assault Hotline
(413) 545-0800

ECCO
(Employee Counseling & Consultation Office) (413) 545-0350

UHS
(University Health Services)
(413) 545-5000

UMPD
(UMass Police Department)
(413) 545-2121

The University of Massachusetts is a diverse institution that attracts students, faculty, and staff from a wide variety of backgrounds and social identities. This includes identities that are based on race, ethnicity, language, country of origin, religion, political affiliation, gender, sexual orientation, disability, class, age, and more. Therefore, it is important that event planners consider how they can make their events accessible and engaging to a wide audience.

To successfully plan events that are inclusive for our community, it is necessary to think beyond simple accommodations or acknowledgements, and to instead create events that are designed to be universally accessible to everyone in our community.

We believe that it is important to plan inclusive events from the very beginning and throughout the planning process to ensure that events are inclusive and accessible to as much of our campus community as possible. This can be used to guide your event planning team in centering accessibility and inclusion throughout each step of your planning process, from beginning to end.

How to Use this Guide

Use this guide as a tool and reference to help you think about and plan events at UMass Amherst. This is intended to help you plan events that are inclusive and accessible to the diverse people who make up the UMass community. It is intended to be flexible and adaptable to your specific events and circumstances, and to help you to meet the needs of the people you serve.

As a key pillar of OEI’s work, Education & Development aims to foster both individual and collective growth by providing transformative, evidence-informed, responsive learning opportunities to the entire UMass Amherst community. Guided by the University’s commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, Education & Development offerings seek to align actions with values, translate theory into practice, and strengthen our shared capacity to embody social justice values as a campus.

ABOUT THIS RESOURCE

This series was developed by the Office of Equity & Inclusion in collaboration with campus partners to provide the UMass Amherst community with foundational knowledge and language regarding disability as a social identity. It is intended to provide access points for learning, reflection, and engagement for ALL community members, including people with disabilities, and those who seek to be in active allyship. As you explore this toolkit, click on any image or underlined text for links to additional resources!

This toolkit series invites the UMass community to…

• Consider what we know (or think we know!) about disability,
• Explore the impact of socialization and dominant cultural narratives on our understanding of disability,
• Practice applying disability justice as a LENS that will repeatedly ask us:
  • What does it mean to think and act in anti-ableist ways?
  • How does disability interact with other aspects of social identity, particularly for community members who experience marginalization around multiple sites of identity?
  • How can we treat disability justice as a way of perceiving the world, not just an inclusivity “checklist item”?

This series was developed by the Office of Equity & Inclusion in collaboration with campus partners to provide the UMass Amherst community with foundational knowledge and language regarding disability as a social identity. 

It is intended to provide access points for learning, reflection, and engagement for ALL community members, including people with disabilities and those who seek to be in active allyship.

As you explore this toolkit, click on any image or underlined text for links to additional resources!

This toolkit series invites the UMass community to…

• Consider what we know (or think we know!) about disability,
• Explore the impact of socialization and dominant cultural narratives on our understanding of disability,
• Practice applying disability justice as a lens that will continually ask us:
  • What does it mean to think and act in anti-ableist ways?
  • How does disability interact with other aspects of social identity, particularly for community members who experience marginalization around multiple sites of identity?
  • How can we treat disability justice as a way of perceiving the world, not just an inclusivity “checklist item”?

This toolkit was developed by the Office of Equity & Inclusion in collaboration with campus partners to provide the UMass Amherst community with an opportunity to learn and practice dialogic skills.

As with all educational offerings, please feel very welcome to take only what serves and resonates! Check in with yourself, asking “What do I need at this moment? What am I ready to receive? What am I prepared to offer?” and accepting the answers that your inner wisdom provides. 

It is our sincere hope that this toolkit can function as an invitation and a trailhead for anyone seeking paths to deepen into right relationship with themselves and others.

The University of Massachusetts is more than an institution of higher education. For over 6,500 faculty and staff, this is also their workplace. Be it salting and shoveling our walkways, preparing the food we eat, advising our students, managing our books (both literally and figuratively), or teaching our classes, the employees here work hard to ensure that the business of the University is done well. Like the overall composition of our campus, this work is conducted by people who hail from a diversity of backgrounds and life experiences. Our campus is richer for their presence.

Yet, we know that there are broad challenges facing our campus community and evidence of them is found in the responses surrounding workplace climate. Disproportionately impacted in the workplace by the pandemic, staff reported higher levels of dissatisfaction than faculty with the university’s response. Faculty and staff with a disability were more likely to report mistreatment in the workplace, and to specifically report it as bullying. LGBTQIA+ and female-identifying faculty and staff were more likely to report difficulties in work-life balance. Also notable are the voices which are underrepresented in these survey results. Numerous barriers to participation, logistical and relational, resulted in frontline staff – the people who do service work on our campus and often hold positions of less institutional power – being less likely to complete the survey. We recognize that there is much to be learned from their stories and will strive to create better access to participation in the future.

These findings reveal opportunities where meaningful changes can be made. By leaning into community and the imperative to care for one another, we can work together to make this campus a place where people thrive, and their ambitions are realized. This toolkit is a starting point, where we take this is up to us.

WEB VERSION