BIT by BIT: December 5, 2023
December 5, 2023
Hello,
As the end of the semester is upon us and you are looking forward to gathering with family and friends during the winter break, I encourage you to find opportunities to connect with and express gratitude to colleagues within your department and across the Office of Student Life. So much has happened this semester and it has been a busy time for many of us and the importance of our culture commitments of appreciation, support, connection, and care remain true during this time.
I invite you to join us for an engaging conversation centered on resilience and well-being on December 12 at 1 p.m. in the Alonso Family Room in the Ohio Union. This dialogue facilitated by Dr. Lois Stepney, Clinical Faculty from the College of Social Work, will center us on a renewed sense of mission, collective care, and the holistic well-being of Student Life staff as we nurture one another and the students we serve.
I hope that in this holiday season you will find time to focus on your overall well-being while also continuing to offer grace, gratitude, kindness and love to others…BIT by BIT.
Best,
Tanisha L. Jenkins, PhD
Associate Vice President for Belonging and Inclusion
Office of Student Life
The Ohio State University
Belonging and Well-being Summit
SAVE THE DATE
Wednesday, January 17, 2024
Stay tuned for more details!
BIT Talk
Promoting Resilience and Emotional Wellbeing
Compassion fatigue, burnout and traumatic stress are very real issues that members of caregiving communities, including those of us who work in student affairs, are likely to confront at some point in our careers. This in-person workshop facilitated by Dr. Lois Stepney on December 12 at 1:00 pm in the Alonso Family Room of the Ohio Union will examine the causes of compassion fatigue, explore the concept of healing justice, and offer an empowering framework that promotes a practical, evidenced based means of preserving professional resilience and wellbeing. Our dialogue will center a renewed sense of mission, collective care, and holistic wellbeing of Student Life staff as we support ourselves, each other, and students.
Registration Here
ENGAGE
Columbus Commons Holiday Lights
See more than 400,000 LED lights dazzle as you walk through the scenic Columbus Commons park. Easy parking is accessible at55 E Rich Street. Be sure to visit Fridays in December (1, 8, 15 & 22) for complimentary hot cocoa and carousel rides from 5-9 p.m.
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Kwanzaa-614
Kwanzaa is a 7 - day celebration that honors community, family and heritage of African American culture and African traditions. Kwanzaa comes from the Swahili word that means “first harvest” and is based on the principles of Nguzo Saba. Across the Columbus community from December 26-January 1, a principle of Nguzo Saba will be honored through fun and family focused activities that will include dance, drumming, storytelling and more. Sponsored by the Ohio History Center, Lincoln Theater, King Art Complex and others, all events are free and open to all.
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Adult Nights at Lego Land Columbus
LEGOLAND Discovery Center Columbus is excited to provide Adult Night events! These events are held four times throughout the year and include activities targeted specifically to our Adult Fans of LEGO.
More Information and Purchase Tickets
LEARN
A Conversation With Ta-Nehisi Coates
A coalition of public libraries have convened to host large, impactful events in Central Ohio collectively by sharing costs, resources, and expertise. This group is bringing award-winning author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates to Columbus on February 4 at 3 p.m. Coates is is the author of the bestselling books The Beautiful Struggle, We Were Eight Years in Power, The Water Dancer and Between the World and Me. He is also known for writing Marvel’s Black Panther (2016-2021) and Captain America (2018-2021) comics series.
More Information and Tickets
Practice Makes Progress: Navigating Difficult DEI Conversations
This 90-minute workshop offered by ODI will be hosted on December 13 from 3-4:30 p.m. Participants will have the opportunity to practice the dialogue building skills and de-escalation techniques introduced in our Navigating Difficult DEI Conversations workshop. *Note: This workshop is designed to be attended after our Navigating Difficult DEI Conversations workshop.
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Advocacy in Action: Centering Advocacy and Disability
The Columbus Community Relations Commission (CRC) presents Advocacy in Action: Centering Equity and Disability on December 14. This no-cost half day forum provides insightful discussions and workshops for regarding how to identify disability discrimination and how to address it.
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Equity and Justice Symposium
The Ohio State University College of Arts & Sciences Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice is scheduled to host its inaugural Equity and Justice Symposium on January 26. The research symposium will highlight the contributions of college faculty and students who substantively address equity and justice in their scholarship. In addition, there will be a panel of college alumni to discuss their experiences with equity and justice in their professional work and share how equity and justice can be put into practice to make an impact in society.
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OCPA Conference
The 2024 Annual Conference will take place on February 5 and 6 at the Hilton at Columbus/Polaris. OCPA is branching out - we have new dates and a new venue that will continue the updates to the Annual Conference experience that began in 2023. As we engage students and the profession in new ways, our conference theme is simple and poignant: Let’s Do This! We face our work head on; “Let’s Do This” is our call to action to continue to innovate with our students and our OCPA membership.
More information and Registration
IDEAL Conference
Indiana University in partnership with the national Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE), will host the inaugural IDEAL Conference, April 4-6in Indianapolis, Indiana. The conference is designed to offer an affordable and accessible professional development resource for Midwestern secondary and post-secondary education institutions and affiliated organizations and provides a regional forum for critical exchange of resources, best practices, and research on the social and political landscape of diversity, equity, inclusion, and access in higher education.
More information and Registration
THRIVE
YP4H Mindfulness at Work
When you realize that mindfulness is much more than breath awareness and relaxation, you start to notice opportunities to practice throughout the day — even at work. On December 12 from 11:30 a.m. to Noon, discover ways you can sneak mindfulness into your day to increase your ability to focus and decrease distractions.
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WOSU Second Saturday Kids Days
Second Saturday Kids Days are free events that take place in the Ross Community Studio at the WOSU headquarters. At each Second Saturday event, children will experience learning through characters they already know and love and explore themes that combine imagination, interaction, and technology to investigate art, science, math and reading.
More Information and Registration