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Office of Intercultural Affairs

The Office of Intercultural Affairs is committed to creating an inclusive environment and community essential for all students’ cultural development and academic success.

The Office of Intercultural Affairs

The Office of Intercultural Affairs is committed to creating an inclusive environment and community essential for all students’ cultural development and academic success.

 

Regardless of a person’s identity based on age, race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, religion or lack thereof, socioeconomic status, citizenship status, ability, military service, or any other classification making individuals special and unique, intercultural affairs will:

  • Develop and educate leaders from a cultural perspective and intersectionality lens
  • Cultivate an inclusive, welcoming, and supportive campus
  • Foster intercultural engagement
  • Provide opportunities for self-awareness and reflection across differences

We, the students, faculty, staff, and Board of Visitors and Governors of Washington College, welcome, invite, value, and support a diverse community of individuals. We strive to create a place where all can study, work, and thrive. We believe in the worth, dignity, and safety of human beings of all races, ethnicities, nationalities, gender identities and/or expressions, sexual orientations, socioeconomic statuses, cultural backgrounds, cognitive or physical abilities, emotional and behavioral characteristics, ages, and educational levels. 

In the pursuit of academic excellence, we endeavor to be a community made up of people from a variety of backgrounds with differing perspectives, life experiences, religious, philosophical and political beliefs, lifestyles, and ideologies. We pledge to create a respectful and supportive environment for collaboration, empathy, and the building of meaningful relationships among members of Washington College. We commit to fostering a more equitable, inclusive, and engaged community that embraces all the complexity that each person brings to campus.                     

  • We will empower all members to contribute ideas, ask questions, contest assumptions, and revise points of view through civil debate.   
  • We will confront and challenge attempts to dehumanize others through prejudiced attitudes, behaviors, and practices that exclude, demean, or marginalize any individual or group.                             
  • We will encourage alumni, parents, visitors, guests, and the wider community to respect and embrace the values and behaviors that we embody.                            

Our promise is to cultivate a continuous desire and ability to understand and meaningfully engage with different perspectives and experiences, including those of historically underrepresented and marginalized groups. We seek to contribute to the full intellectual and emotional development of every person and to the enrichment of our local, regional, national, and global communities.

The Office of Intercultural Affairs is located in Minta Martin Hall, along with our Intercultural Center—a student-centered location on campus that provides a safe physical space for everyone—but it’s also much more than that! The Center is a hub for a wide variety of student services, resources, and cultural programs. This new accessible space includes:

  • A home for the Intercultural Affairs Office
  • A home for the Center for the Study of Black Culture
  • Office space for BSU, CLEOS, EROS and SAGE
  • An interfaith room
  • Gender-neutral bathrooms
  • Computer lab with printing capability
  • Lounge area
  • Conference room

Resources and Initiatives    

We are committed to providing resources and initiatives to help our diverse student community.    

Student Resources

We have a plethora of student resources like our Intercultural Ambassador Program, Yellow Ribbon Program, and religious resources for our religiously and spiritually diverse community!

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LGBTQIA+ Resources

We have a wide range of resources available to our LGBTQIA+ community from coming out and family resources, to scholarship information and professional resources. 

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Religious Resources

Washington College is a religiously and spiritually diverse community. We welcome students of every religious background and tradition and aim to give all students the resources they need to be able to practice their faith accordingly, as well as interfaith and secular spaces for quiet contemplation, such as the Kirwan Meditation Garden. Additionally, students can find the Interfaith Center inside the Intercultural Center. The Interfaith Center has two private prayer spaces on campus and is available to provide support to students seeking to connect with students of similar faith or secure transportation to churches, mosques, and temples.

Learn more
 

First-Generation Student Resources

Being the first in your family to attend college is a very proud accomplishment, but it comes with unique challenges. In a joint effort through many offices on campus, including Intercultural Affairs, Financial Aid, Student Affairs, and the Career Center, Washington College strives to provide first-generation students with all the support they need to thrive as members of the Washington College community. The Office of Intercultural Affairs’ Ambassador Program provides networking opportunities and mixers for fellow first generation students, in addition to creating deeper connections with campus resources.

learn more

 

Programs and Events Spotlight

 

Minta Martin Hall

Safe Space Program

Through Safe Space, Washington College strives to create an inclusive environment for all members of the campus community. Safe Space is a nationally recognized program that provides educational training designed to support and create a network of allies for the Lesbian, Bi-sexual, Gay, and Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ) community on-campus. Our Safe Space at Washington College is located in the Intercultural Affairs office in the basement of Minta Martin Hall.

JEDI

Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Initiative

The JEDI Initiative develops and delivers learning modules on topics such as microaggressions, racism and stress, and antiracism. Students, faculty, and staff from across the WAC community design and deliver these workshops. JEDI values active learning, kindness, respect, and continual growth of all participants, whether they be JEDI leaders, facilitators, or participants. With these values as our touchstones and commitment to a socially just world at its core, JEDI seeks to empower members of the WAC community to have the knowledge and confidence they need to make a difference in our community and in our wider world. JEDI Modules currently include: Mitigating (Mirco) Aggressions, Identity & Privilege, Anti-Racism, Courageous Conversations, Gender JEDI, and Racism and Stress.

Holi Festival

Campus Events

The Office of Intercultural Affairs works closely with student organizations, the Office of Student Engagement, Residence Life, Student Government Association, the Student Events Board, Starr Center, and Admissions to co-sponsor inclusive, educational, social, and cultural events for all to enjoy at WC. Some of our favorite events include Diversity Week—a week of campus programming surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion—Holi Festival of Colors and LatinX Heritage Month Celebration.