Breaking Cycles: Where Do We Go from Here?
The goal of this year’s Claiming Williams is to look inward and question how we can break the cycle of oppression, injustice, and the notion of effortless perfection that defines experiences at Williams College and beyond. Claiming Williams 2022 will happen in the midst of a global pandemic, an ongoing fight for racial justice, a growing labor shortage, and a call for mental health awareness. Whether it’s working toward breaking negative or destructive thought patterns to ending intergenerational trauma responses; whether it is forcing an institution to look in the mirror and come up with new solutions or creating a new paradigm for thinking— This year’s theme invites all members of the community to weigh in on how we as individuals, a community, and an institution can name, respond and unpack harmful incidents. How do we break these never-ending cycles and move toward a more restorative practice in all things we do?
Claiming Williams 2022 wants to hear your ideas. Upon reflection and inspection, what are areas that you feel need vast improvements and what are some cycles the Williams College community would like to see stopped altogether on campus and in the larger world? And, how can we work toward a future free of those structures that orchestrate so much of our lived experience?