During Orientation, all incoming first-year and transfer students participate a 2-part mandatory program, brought to campus through a collaboration with the Office of Multicultural Affairs over the span of 2 days.
During Orientation, first-year students are in small groups with an Orientation Leader to both discuss the transition, life at Lehigh, and process the large-scale programming that occurs.
5x10 series are run by the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Center for Gender Equity built off the foundation from Orientation to deepen conversation.
We have an Orientation staff of about 100 student volunteers. They go through approximately 75 hours of in-person training, Their training is scaffolded to build off their learning as they become more self-aware and trusting of each other as a team. We have many discussions about identity development and inclusive leadership and they create their bLUeprints. The following are some examples of activities and discussions during training that relate to diversity and inclusion:
participation in a privilege walk
exploration of unique and/or marginalized populations at Lehigh and how these students might experience Lehigh differently
discussions on inclusive language and the power/context of words we utilize
discussion and practice of diplomacy - understanding that there are always multiple experiences and perspectives (and not to share only your own but help understand the root of someone's question and provide them with resources)
exploration of "isms" through a gallery walk/commenting on powerful photos and small/large group conversations
participation in an activity called "Beneath the Surface" to explore their own life experiences with a small group and learn from others about powerful moments in their life (positive and negative).
trainings from a variety of offices on campus including the DI&E stem before facilitating small group conversation in Building Bridges, Gender Violence Education & Support, Title IX, Disability Support Services, etc.
Implicit/Unconscious Bias training
Returning leaders additionally participate in a Social Identities activity. It allowed students to reflect on their personal identities, learn more about each other's identities (and think about the identities that FYS may hold/could impact their experience on campus), and reflect on how the identities they hold may impact the way they lead and work together as a team.
We have a 12-person Camp Hawk Counselor student staff who goes through approximately 40 hours of training that is scaffolded to build off their learning as they become more self-aware and trusting of each other as a team. We have many discussions about identity development and inclusive leadership and develop their bLUeprints. The following are some examples of activities and discussions during training that relate to diversity and inclusion:
participation in a privilege walk
exploration of unique and/or marginalized populations at Lehigh and how these students might experience Lehigh differently
discussions on inclusive language and the power/context of words we utilize
discussion and practice of diplomacy - understanding that there are always multiple experiences and perspectives (and not to share only your own but help understand the root of someone's question and provide them with resources
Implicit/Unconscious Bias training
preLUsion student leaders go through diplomacy training where we help students think about how others may experience Lehigh differently than they do. We are discussing the possibility of having additional diversity and inclusion training for these students.
Professional staff recently engage in conversation around antiracism based on books, articles, and video resources and discuss ways to make this intentional in our work.
Created a 5x10 symposium consulting group made up of faculty, staff and students to examine our application and selection processes which contributed to informed changes on the 5x10 program.
