Letter from the Ally Week Co-Chairs
The Co-Chairs of NYU Shanghai Ally Week 2016 introduce the event and their partnership with OCA to promote allyship.
Dear NYU Shanghai,The Ally Week Committee is pleased to announce that in two weeks, NYU Shanghai will be hosting it’s fourth Ally Week, from Monday, Nov. 7 to Sunday, Nov. 13. Some of you may be asking--what is Ally Week? It is a week dedicated towards allyship, “an active and consistent practice of unlearning and re-evaluating beliefs and actions, in which a person seeks to work in solidarity with a marginalized individual or group of people.” This tradition began at the New York campus six years ago, and has allowed the diverse NYU community to engage in necessary dialogue, giving everyone the opportunity to explore their own identities and those of others, and become better allies within and outside of the university community. Here at NYU Shanghai, our community is diverse in many unique ways that are distinct from the New York campus. We share a large representation of different nationalities and cultures, and represent a wide range of social backgrounds and histories. It can be said that we also live in our own sort of NYU Shanghai bubble; we aren’t all jointly tied to any particular community outside of our direct university. This is extremely positive, however it does present certain challenges, such as finding ways to connect, represent and dialogue about our collective identities equally. So, sometimes we need a push and a supportive platform to guide us. This is why Ally Week, traditionally held in the Spring semester, has been moved to November for our community--we need to start earlier. Waiting until the eighth month of the school year is too long and delays setting up space for important dialogues. We hope that NYU Shanghai Ally Week can act as a catalyst of dialogue, support and willingness to learn, so that once we start the conversation, it will continue throughout the year and help us all better recognize how Allyship applies to each and every one of us.On behalf of the Ally Week Committee, it is with this hope that we ask you - the students of NYU Shanghai - to add your own voices. In partnership with OCA, we will be holding an open call for your perspectives and voices regarding allyship. We hope to be able to use OCA as a platform to give members of our communities, particularly those from communities where they feel silenced, unheard or unsupported, to be able to write pieces about their experiences and what Allyship means to them. Whether it be a piece about religious tolerance, LGBTQ+ rights, racism and microaggressions; or gender, representation in media, academia or careers--we want your perspectives to be present. Not every perspective and issue can be addressed in only five days, so we hope that this initiative can help you to participate in the dialogue and expand the topics that are covered through the week. For anyone interested, please email your ideas to [email protected]. We hope that this year’s Ally Week is as impactful for you all as it has been for us in past years, and we can’t wait to see you at the various events throughout Ally Week! Sincerely,Stephanie Ulan and Millicent Wong Ally Week Co-Chairs This article was written by Stephanie Ulan and Millicent Wong. Please send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: Ally Week