On September 11, 2001, Edgewood College added a Peace Pole, a visual representation of committing ourselves to peace, outside of the Edgedome & Sonderegger Science Center. On September 11, 2018, we hosted our inaugural Prayers for Peace luncheon, engaging faculty, staff & students from multiple faith traditions to offer a prayer or reflection for peace.
On October 8, 2018, Edgewood College administration created an important Land Recognition Statement acknowledging that the 55 acres of the Edgewood Campus exists on our local first Nation's land, the Ho-Chunk. This celebration and ceremony invited in the local Indigenous community, including many from the Ho-Chunk community, formally enacting the Land Recognition Statement and celebrating the accomplishments of the Indigenous People of Wisconsin.
Dying to Cross, is a student led project and visual tribute, that commemorates the many individuals who died in pursuit of their American Dream. Dying to Cross remembers those who fell victim to the Sonoran Desert in their effort to cross the United States-Mexico border. Students on campus, many of whom participate in the Association of LatinX Students, make tribute by placing crosses in the ground throughout the campus. The crosses bear the names and ages of those who died.
The visual representation can be seen annually throughout campus during the last week in October and the first week in November. A candlelight remembrance vigil is held on campus, with prayers in both Spanish and English.
Dying to Cross is a project that's close to the heart of Ariana Silva, a n alum of Edgewood College. It's not a class project, she says, it goes much deeper. "My whole family immigrated," Silva says. "More than anything, I ant to bring awareness to the fact that people are dying in their desire to achieve their American Dream. I want us to move past what too often a partisan issue, to see that this is a human issue."
This is just another great example of how students at Edgewood College connect their learning, beliefs and action.
Annually, Edgewood College celebrates the life, legacy, and achievements of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during DREAM Week, and closes on the third Monday of January in honor of the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. This institutional commitment to MLK's legacy dates back to the '60s when classes at Edgewood were suspended on April 9, 1968, the day of MLK's funeral. The following weeks, the College cancelled classes and hosted an all-day Teach In, "Crisis in America."
In 2013, the College endorsed DREAM Week, which included a day of service, many opportunities for teaching & learning, a read-in (led by the Edgewood College Black Student Union) in the President's Office, and a Student Award banquet. Today, we continue this important week of campus-wide programming.
In the spring of 2018, following two incidents of bias, College officials cancelled classes to host an inaugural Diversity Forum to address topics of importance to the campus. Over 700 faculty, staff and students joined together to send a clear message that hate and bias has no home at Edgewood College.
Together, campus members committed to three central messages:
"We Commit to Educating Ourselves"
"We Commit to Respecting All People"
"We Commit to Standing Up for Justice"
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