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Residential colleges to hold 'Teach-In/Learn-In' event Tuesday

February 26, 2018
<p>Members of the three residential colleges, James Madison College, Lyman Briggs College and the Residential Colleges in the Arts and Humanities meet on Feb. 8, 2018, at the Wonders Kiva. They presented an open letter to the MSU Board of Trustees.</p>

Members of the three residential colleges, James Madison College, Lyman Briggs College and the Residential Colleges in the Arts and Humanities meet on Feb. 8, 2018, at the Wonders Kiva. They presented an open letter to the MSU Board of Trustees.

MSU’s residential colleges will come together to host a “Teach-In/Learn-In” event Tuesday at the Union from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The event, a joint effort from the students, faculty and staff of James Madison College, Lyman Briggs College and the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities, or RCAH, will encourage the community to ask and answer questions with the goal of fixing aspects of MSU’s culture and structure that allowed ex-MSU and USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar to sexually abuse women and girls for years.

The event is open to anyone willing to attend, Tama Hamilton-Wray, RCAH assistant professor and one of the event’s organizers, said.

“We’re hoping to give people space to talk, to voice their concerns, to voice their hopes and to come together with like-minded people or people who have different viewpoints,” Hamilton-Wray said. “We also hope that by the end of the day, people will have gained some tools to (implement) their ideas and move into action.”

A “Teach-In” is a type of protest first created at University of Michigan in 1965, according to the event page on the RCAH website. 

“A Teach-In requires all participants to be both teachers and learners, working together in the knowledge that the bounds of normal academic learning are too narrow to successfully confront the challenges we face,” according to the page. “As such, a Teach-In intentionally disrupts daily routines and endows participants with the knowledge needed to build the culture they want to see.”

Hamilton-Wray said she hopes faculty will attend the event and encourage their students to go in place of classes, she said. She hopes the community can expand its knowledge of issues and create a culture that is befitting to MSU’s values.

“We really do hope that people will think of this not as business as usual, because I think that ... we have demonstrated that things are not business as usual,” Hamilton-Wray said.

The event will feature a complimentary breakfast and lunch. Several “breakout sessions,” or themed forums led by experts and trained or knowledgeable students, will be held throughout the afternoon on a number of topics.

For an extended description of the event and a schedule of planned activities, visit the event’s page on RCAH’s website.

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