Dignity Initiative Series Kicks Off at Collin College
Dignity Initiative Series Kicks Off at Collin College
Aug. 22, 2016 – Addressing the global impact of the oppression of women, Collin College’s Dignity Initiative will kick off its annual series of events with “Growing with Dignity” from 9 a.m.- 1 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 8 in the Spring Creek Campus atrium, 2800 E. Spring Creek Parkway in Plano.
Free and open to the public, the kick-off event will offer food and entertainment. In addition, student and community organization representatives working to address the oppression of women locally and globally will be available with information about how individuals can take action by stepping up, speaking out and acting now. For a full list of fall campaign events, visit www.collin.edu/community/dignity/campusevents.html .
The Dignity Initiative is a multi-year effort to educate the campus and community about five aspects of violence against women and empower individuals toward three specific action steps. The fall and spring series will address the global impact of oppression of women through a series of campus events, including free film screenings and panel discussions.
According to Sherry Rhodes, professor of speech and chair of the Collin College Committee Against Gender Violence and Oppression, two compelling films, Girl Rising and Half the Sky are scheduled this fall.
“Both films focus on the ongoing oppression of women around the world,” said Rhodes. “We also have excellent panel discussions at each campus which feature speakers who are working to end the oppression of women. The goal of our committee is to raise awareness and encourage our college community to take action to end the violence and oppression of women.”
The Dignity Initiative is challenging individuals to affirm their commitment to the three action steps by taking The Pledge, which can be found at www.collin.edu/community/dignity/takethepledge.html .
For more information, visit http://www.collin.edu/community/dignity or email srhodes@collin.edu or tmckenzie@collin.edu.
Collin College serves nearly 52,000 credit and continuing education students annually and offers more than 100 degrees and certificates. The only public college in the county, Collin College is a partner to business, government and industry, providing customized training and work force development. In addition, the college operates the Collin Higher Education Center, which serves 3,300 additional students each year in partnership with The University of Texas at Dallas, Texas Woman’s University, Texas A&M Commerce, Texas Tech and the University of North Texas.