Arms Open WIDE
Warren Wilson College’s Inclusion Diversity and Equity (WIDE) Office is devoted to creating and upholding a culture on campus that is sustainable, and encouraging individuals to strive collectively and meaningfully towards intercultural ingenuity. WIDE supports students through the points where their ethnicities, genders, (dis)abilities, ages, sexual orientations, religions, and other identities begin or intersect, and is especially intentional about supporting and reaffirming the students in our community specifically identifying (generally or in part) as African/Black, Latiné, Indigenous, Asian (ALIA), and/or Multiracial, as not only the integral stakeholders that they are, but also as essential shapers of our campus’s short and long-term vision.
WIDE seeks to produce intentional and varied learning opportunities for all Warren Wilson students, faculty, and staff in the following areas:
- Consulting (Programming. Questions about Race/Ethnicity, Sex, Gender, & Sexual Orientation, Religion, Age, Class, Vet Status, etc…)
- Training & Workshops on Intercultural Engagement, Budgeting, Programming
- Advisement of Identity-Based Clubs (including new club inquiries)
- Crisis Management
- Student-Centered Programming
- Providing Opportunities for processing concepts of race/ethnicity, sex, gender & sexual orientation, class, religion, etc…
- Building out Inclusive Spaces
How does WIDE do it?
Programming
- WIDE facilitates heritage month programming, promoting awareness, celebration, and dialogue throughout the year, including Latine heritage, Indigenous and Native American heritage, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration, Black History Month, Chinese New Year, Asian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and Juneteenth.
- WIDE also hosts meetings for the WIDE ABC (Antiracist Book Club) and features general programming addressing matters pertaining to diversity impact areas.
Education
- WIDE provides a number of educational opportunities for the Warren Wilson community, including classroom/crew presentations, conferences, trainings, and workshops.
Community Building
- WIDE oversees the Living and Learning Community at Sutton Hall – a space devoted to supporting student advocacy for African, Latine, Indigenous, and Asian (ALIA) communities. Its leadership team includes four Peer Advisors (PAs) and the Resident Assistant (RA). Residents not only learn experientially as they carry out their advocacy but they also participate in programming devoted to the development of those advocacy skills, whether they are utilized on campus in greater Asheville or the communities they reside in. Toward that end, WIDE also collaborates with organizations and colleges/universities in the Asheville, Black Mountain, and surrounding region.
Student Advocacy
- WIDE provides an open-door policy and supports all students in development of their multiple identities. The WIDE Office is also an advocate and response unit for student reports of bias.
