- The poll is to determine whether the prize should be open only to students or to the broader Wells Community.
- Some of the feedback has suggested that students will benefit more from a monetary prize than faculty or staff will, and also that faculty and staff have the potential to play an equally significant role in tlgbq activism as do students. What do you think?
- For the purposes of the official wording of the prize, we'll have to designate who is eligible, but Maggie Thomas '84 has assured me that exceptions can be made (and have historically been made) with regard to criteria for prize recipients.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Poll Extended
We've decided to extend voting on the "Who should be eligible to win the Will Liberi Memorial Prize" poll, which had previously been set to close today. If you've been reading the blog but have not yet weighed in on this aspect of the prize, we encourage you not only to vote, but to leave your feedback in the comments section. To recap:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
Hello Katie and Carrie,
Again, thank you for all your work on this!
The poll is a useful way to gauge sentiments. What I see is that feelings are running strong for both a student prize and a community-wide recognition award. Myself, if we can have consensus and have everyone feel included, I’m for that.
So, in that spirit here are a couple of ideas that try to bring together many ideas.
How about:
1. The WNL Memorial Prize for TLGBQ Activism (student only, a monetary award). Awarded annually to a Wells College student who has demonstrated a commitment to transgender issues through service to the community via activism, visibility, literary, or artistic endeavors.
2. The WNL TLGBQ Awareness Award (faculty or staff only) which would be the dedication of a book/film in memory of Will with the name of that person in it. A book or film which would raise awareness on campus on trans issues would be donated to the library each year. Awarded annually to the member of the Wells College Community who has demonstrated a commitment to transgender and queer issues, especially through hir services as an ally to the tlgbq community.
abrazos,
Vic
I agree with Vic!
(I didn't vote because there was no option on the poll that was similar to this.)
It certainly seems that there is a strong pull for both a community wide recognition and for a student prize. I don't know if the pull on both sides is representative of people's wishes for two separate prizes or for on prize or the other specifically.
Katie and I are still trying to frame the wording for a single (monetary) prize to be given out at honors convocation. Meghan Sommers (formerly Roberson) has contacted the library and is working on a new blog that will hopefully integrate Vic's 2nd prize suggestion.
When Katie and I set up the poll we were hoping for feedback specifically on the prize to be given out at Honors Convocation. We thought that if people agreed with Vic's post, that they would vote "student only" in the poll, because that would mean that they supported the prize given at honors convocation being for students only.
I am very interested in getting feedback specifically on why people would want the prize given at honors convocation to be "student only" versus "entire community." For example, Chelle said at an earlier point that she felt torn about donating to the prize unless it was going directly to a student because she felt like giving to staff/faculty is in a way giving to the college, something which she does not plan to do.
Is that how other people feel?
Do people feel the opposite?
What would be the benefit of awarding the prize to someone from the entire community?
What would be the benefit of it being student only?
Would anyone else only donate to one, but not the other?
Personally, I like the idea of the honors convocation prize being open to the entire community. I also am uncomfortable giving money to the college, but I wouldn't feel like donating to a prize that is open to the entire community was the same as giving to the college.
Some of Will's strongest allies were Faculty and Staff members.
I think that if a professor put together a transgender lecture series, or if an assistant dean of residence life worked hard at creating trans inclusive spaces in the dorms... not as part of their jobs, but going above and beyond, that they should be recognized in the same way as a student who fought to include gender inclusive pronouns in the constitution, or as a student who educated fellow students about trans issues... to me, the prize seems more valuable if it includes and encourages the entire community.
That being said, I really really want to hear everyone else's feedback. Because maybe there are some really good reasons why people think that the prize should be student only. And maybe there are reasons other than mine that people might feel the prize should be open to the entire community. Whatever the case may be, I hope to hear more from everyone.
Just a quick note. At Honors Convocation awards are given to students, faculty, and staff, so we could give two awards in Will's name at Honors.
I think honoring a student specifically and then also having another one open to all (I meant to include students in my earlier post here) would be very inclusive, but would make sure that a student is a recipient of a WNL award -- Will was a student at Wells that's why I have that focus -- and would still keep the option open (through the book award) for faculty, staff, and students who are allies/activists/supporters.
Okay, I better get going. Thanks, again for all your work on this and for the email update option!
abrazos,
Vic
I really like Vic's suggestions. Having both a student and faculty Prize highlights that both sides of the community are equally valuable in raising awareness, advocating and creating change. It also addresses the different dynamics of each facet: a student (ESPECIALLY a student) can really use money [working in the NFP world can be especially poverty prone], whereas a professor or staff member already is gainfully employed and would probably find it more gratifying to be able to be recognized for their contribution and CONTINUE their contribution through the award itself.
Post a Comment