Cultural & Social Health

A Year of Wellness & Action is a 2022-2023 academic year initiative at Pacific, inviting employees to focus on one health and wellness theme ever two months.

In September-October 2022, delve into social and cultural health. Find information and resources below for your self-guided journey, and add to the conversation by joining Pacific's Wellness Challenges Google Group. (Go to groups.google.com, choose "all groups," then scroll to find the Wellness Challenge and join. Once you've joined, you'll be able to send and receive messages to the group at wellnesschallenges@groups.pacificu.edu.)

Take the Racial Equity Challenge

Take the 21-Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge from Dr. Eddie Moore Jr. Find sample activities and a challenge tracking tool on Box.

The Pacific University School of Occupational Therapy customized the challenge for OT students and other healthcare providers this summer. Try their version of the challenge. 

Explore Equity, Diversity & Inclusion at Pacific

The Pacific University Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion provides resources and workshops for the Boxer community.

OEDI also offers information and support for undocumented and DACAmented students, as well as resources for educators working with undocumented students.

Learn about land acknowledgements — what they are and how to use them — and about the university’s Indigenous Engagement Committee.

Join an employee affinity group — space made for folks who share an identity to convene together, build community, offer support and explore identity. Faculty and staff affinity groups include BIPOC Faculty & Staff, LBGTQIA+ Faculty & Staff, and Anti-Racist Faculty & Staff.

Explore Gender Equity at Pacific

The Pacific University Center for Gender Equity plans programming and events, gender equity and childcare resources, and LGBTQ+ resources. CGE also offers a Queer & Trans Mentorship Program — now seeking menotrs — as well as resources to learn about pronoun etiquette.

Find campus support, like all-gender restroom locations and lactation rooms, and learn about Pacific’s gender inclusive housing model in our residence halls.

Want to get involved? CGE sponsors the annual one-day Girls Today conference for middle-school age young women. Faculty and staff, as well as students, are invited to submit a workshop proposal for the October 2022 conference. Proposals are due by Sept. 23.

You can also make a gift to support the Center for Gender Equity.

Explore Student Counseling Center Resources

The Student Counseling Center’s web-based video series, Rising From the Margins, supports students drawing on the wisdom of their experiences of living in the margins. The series is available for Pacific faculty, staff and students.

The Student Counseling Center also hosts regular BIPOC and Queer Let's Talk drop-in sessions for students.

More to Read

• “To Hell with Good Intentions” by Ivan Illich
  This cautionary piece is relevant to any American individual, organization or institution that seeks to "do good" in the rest of the world. It is an indictment of  white (or US.) saviorism. This address was delivered by Ivan Illich to the Conference on InterAmerican Student Projects (CIASP) in Cuernavaca, Mexico, on April 20, 1968. In his usual biting and sometimes sarcastic style, Illich goes to the heart of the deep dangers of paternalism inherent in any voluntary service activity, but especially in any international service "mission." Parts of the speech are outdated and must be viewed in the historical context of 1968 when it was delivered, but the entire speech is retained for the full impact of his point and at Ivan Illich's request.
• "Ask Sahaj: It's Time to Lean Into Discomfort and Share Our Stories" by Sahaj Kaur Kohli
  This advice column, "Ask Sahaj" written by Sahaj Kaur Kohli, focuses on mental health issues experienced by second-generation immigrants in the U.S. and is published in the Washington Post. Kohli also also has an organization called Brown Girl Therapy.
• Community Activism, Engagement, Service, and Publications from the Pacific University World Languages & Literatures Department 
• How Indian Boarding Schools Have Impacted Generations, a three-part series from Native News Online
• Lessons Learned: How Fort Spokane Indian Boarding School Traumatized Generations and Spokane Tribal Children Buried at Oregon Indian Boarding Schools from KHQ06 
• Researchers Publish List of Deaths of Indigenous People Who Lived at 'Indian Schools' in Forest Grove, Chemawa (pacificu.edu)

Get Involved

Join Jim Moore, director of political outreach for the Tom McCall Center for Civic Engagement, for a series of open discussions on how to talk abut our fraught national politics with a wide variety of people. "Having Difficult Political Conversations" is an open forum for ideas, planning, and figuring out how to lead and take part in conversations. The group meets from noon to 1 p.m. in Bates House on Sept. 7, Sept. 21, Oct. 5, and Oct. 19. Dr. Moore also is available to meet with individual groups. Contact him at moorej@pacificu.edumoorej@pacificu.edu to schedule a session.

Join other social and cultural events and conversations on campus from our variety of centers and affinity groups. Explore on the calendar below!