rich 1.0 Action Network https://actionnetwork.org <link href='https://actionnetwork.org/css/style-embed-v3.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' /><script src='https://actionnetwork.org/widgets/v6/petition/strengthen-earlham-community-address-student-concerns?format=js&source=widget'></script><div id='can-petition-area-strengthen-earlham-community-address-student-concerns' style='width: 100%'><!-- this div is the target for our HTML insertion --></div> Daniel Hunter https://actionnetwork.org/users/daniel-hunter-2/profile https://can2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/petitions/photos/000/025/217/normal/EarlhamLogo.png Earlham students are protesting how Earlham falls short in supporting students of color and other minority students, including women, LGBTQ students, and international students. They have identified key issues, many of which are a result of Earlham administration removing support structures which past generations fought to put in place. (Click here for more background.) Earlham's administration has not provided any public response — instead it has brought three student activists before disciplinary charges. Embarrassingly, its lack of response has made its way to front pages of the local newspaper. Students — and Earlham — need you to lend your voice to urge Earlham to address these structural issues directly and meaningfully in order to create a safer, supportive community. Therefore, we urge you to sign the following petition (full letter is below): As alums we know what Earlham can offer at its best. We cherish ideas of equality and justice that Earlham College strives towards.  What we hear of the current Earlham administration’s choices trouble us: • a reduction of student-run spaces: moving the Womyn’s Center off-campus (currently without a home) and curtailing Miller Farm and Rose City Coffee shop. • an elimination of college readiness programs that provide academic support to students who need an extra hand, like the Summer Writing Intensive (SWI). • a troubling lack of counseling services, with only one full-time counselor for all students and a myriad of part-time counselors, none of whom are people of color or LGBTQ; and • firing support staff who were well-liked, and known on campus for going beyond their official positions to support marginalized students and filling in where counselors and support structures fell short (Trayce Peterson, Rich Dornberger and Stacy Kawamura). These moves run counter to the Quaker-values that have infused our Earlham experiences. This devastation of academic support, counseling, student agency, and trusted support staff represents an erosion of the hard-fought policies earlier generations put in place to address issues of inequality. Losing them diminishes the Earlham experience, especially for historically marginalized communities who suffer heavily with these changes. We therefore urge the administration to consistently meet with students and others to engage and consider the list of requirements, and rapidly implement those policies which align with Earlham’s highest values — without punishing or singling out students involved in this advocacy movement. https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/strengthen-earlham-community-address-student-concerns