First-Year Orientation Includes Workshop on College Safety and Inclusion

Over the past few months, the team at Thames Heart and Mind Hub, in collaboration with the Writing Center, conducted a workshop titled "College as a Safe Space" for first-year students. The workshop addressed critical issues such as sexual harassment, bullying, substance use, and consent—topics often overlooked but essential for building an inclusive and supportive college environment.

Branched into two phases, the workshop began with the Heart and Mind Hub introducing core values at Thames—freedom, interdisciplinary learning, and critical thinking. This session encouraged students to reflect on their own identities and values, laying a foundation for the broader conversation on creating safe spaces.

The second phase, led by the Writing Center, focused on bullying, harassment, and substance abuse through the lens of power. The discussion emphasized how these issues are often rooted in power dynamics, and brought in concepts like consent, individual agency, and systems of accountability.

The key objectives of the workshop were to:

• Open conversations with students about bullying, sexual harassment and substance abuse, encouraging students to reach out to the Heart and Mind Hub for support and redressal mechanisms,
• Use a power-based framework to understand these issues more deeply and promote  a nuanced perspective,
• Reframe the dialogue around these topics using a pleasure-centered approach rather than protectionist approach, making discussions more accessible and less stigmatized.

Thames remains committed to nurturing such conversations and building a campus community where every student feels safe, heard, and empowered.