Values Day was canceled last fall due to the pandemic, but thanks to an overwhelming response from the Stetson community, has quickly come together for this Thursday, Feb. 11.

The annual tradition, when classes are canceled for the day, usually is held in September but was called off because of the health concerns over COVID-19. Then in December, a group of faculty in the Calendar Planning Committee asked if the event might be organized for the Spring semester.

“They said they felt like more than ever we need to have a Values Day, that we need to have a day where the community can come together and reflect on what’s happened over the past year and celebrate our values,” said Savannah-Jane Griffin, executive director of Community Engagement and Inclusive Excellence, who has coordinated the event for the past five years.

A call for workshops went out the last week of January, with a one-week deadline to respond. Griffin said she was “shocked” at the overwhelming response, which allowed a full schedule of events to be quickly planned.

Themed “Hindsight 2020,” Values Day will feature 21 workshops and activities, including the President’s Webinar, in which President Christopher F. Roellke, PhD, in recognition of Black History Month, will lead a panel discussion reflecting on racial injustices of the past year and throughout history. The panel will explore what the Stetson community has learned and ways to move forward to create a more just and hopeful future.

Students can receive up to six Cultural Credits by attending any of seven events offering cultural credit. Students must complete an assessment that will be given after attending the event.

All but two of the events on Thursday will be virtual. Attendees should register online now and will receive an email Feb. 8 with links for all of the day’s events. Those who register after Feb. 8 will receive an email on the day they register. In-person events will follow safety protocols from the Safer Campus Task Force.

“Surprisingly, we had 17 workshops submitted,” Griffin said. “The content is really great. We have a number of presentations focusing on a variety of different topics, but all with the same theme of reflecting on this past year.

“People care about Values Day and it’s become a big tradition on our campus. It’s unique to Stetson. As soon as I put the call out, everybody jumped for the opportunity to participate,” she said.

President Roellke’s webinar panel will include Sharmaine Jackson, PhD, assistant professor of sociology and director of Africana studies, and Andy Eisen, PhD, visiting assistant professor of history and co-director of the Community Education Project, Stetson’s higher education in prison program.

Jackson will offer insights from her “Race in the 21st Century” webinar series (available on YouTube), which has featured discussions by Stetson students and faculty, and members of the DeLand community such as Police Chief Jason Umberger.

Eisen will share insights on slavery, Indian removal and resistance in Volusia County, drawing upon historical research conducted by inmates at Tomoka Correctional Institution in the Community Education Project. That research led to the exhibition, “Slavery and the Struggle for Freedom in East Florida,” on display Feb. 1-March 31 at the Enterprise Museum.

The panel also will have two members from the Volusia Remembers Coalition, an organization which has partnered with the Equal Justice Initiative to acknowledge, remember and reflect upon incidents of racial terror lynchings in Volusia County, as well as celebrate civil rights victories and cultivate healing and reconciliation.

Attendees can submit questions for the panel online.

The President’s Webinar theme of racial justice and healing echoes the roots of Values Day, which began in the early 1990s when Stetson President H. Douglas Lee created a town hall-style meeting to discuss diversity and inclusion at the university. In 2004 the name of the event was changed to Diversity Day and, in 2012, Diversity Day was re-envisioned so that students, faculty and staff can focus on all of the university’s core values: personal growth, intellectual development, global citizenship, and personal and social responsibility. The event was thus renamed Values Day.

Other events on Thursday include:

• Workshop Block 1: From 10 a.m. -11:15 a.m.
A Call to Action for Human Rights: Examining the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness 
Rajni Shankar-Brown, PhD, Jessie Ball duPont Chair of Social Justice Education

Children and youth are the fastest growing segment of the homeless population across the United States, particularly in the state of Florida. The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically increased homelessness and continues to disproportionately impact Black and Brown communities. The well-being of children and youth in the Sunshine State is consistently ranked as one of the lowest in the nation. Additionally, Florida continues to be identified as one of the most dangerous states for individuals experiencing homelessness, with hate crimes increasing at alarming rates, high percentages of incarceration, and the severe lack of resources in education and public health. Growing economic inequality and persistent racial inequities requires us to reflect on individual and collective values and calls on us to work together to mindfully dismantle systemic oppression. This interactive session will highlight the myriad effects of homelessness on children and youth, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic — putting forth a call to action for human rights.

• Workshop Block 2: From 1 p.m.- 2:15 p.m.
2021 Stetson R.E.A.D. Launch!

Students, faculty, and staff are invited to learn more about the 2021 Stetson R.E.A.D. (Reflect, Engage, and Affirm Diversity) program founded by Dr. Rajni Shankar-Brown in the Department of Education. This year’s R.E.A.D. includes the following books: Ibram X. Kendi’s book, “How to Be an Anti-Racist” and accompanying guided journal, juxtaposed with Octavia Butler’s “Parable of the Sower,” including a new introduction by N.K. Jemisin. Additionally, excerpts of Isabel Wilkerson’s, “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents,” will be shared in preparation for next year’s Stetson R.E.A.D. program. 

The university cancels classes and closes offices for Values Day, with the exception of evening graduate classes. The entire community is expected to participate in the day of reflection, community and action.

“This past year has been challenging in so many ways for everybody in our community,” said Griffin, who will co-present the workshop, “Student Input Needed: How can we strengthen Stetson’s relationship with the DeLand community and ensure DeLand is inclusive and welcome to all?”

“A group of people helped identify the Hindsight 2020 theme, and I’ve been a big believer that we need to reflect on what’s happened,” Griffin said. “We’ve been trying to do the work that we need to do, but I think it’s really also important to take time to reflect and assess what we’ve learned over the past year, and have conversations about how we move forward, whether that’s focusing on public health issues or racial healing. There’s value in having our community come together and reflect.”

— Rick de Yampert