Spring 2021 Course Information, Occidental College

Link from Syllabi of Prof. Horowitz

Policies for an online learning environment

· I strive to foster an inclusive classroom environment. Consistent with College policy on discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, I seek to maintain an environment of mutual respect among all members of our community. Please come to me with any concerns.

· As a student participating in an online learning environment, you must abide by all College rules and regulations including, but not limited to, rules in the applicable course syllabus/outline, the Student Code of Conduct Policy, the Policy on Sexual Harassment and Discrimination, as well as any applicable laws. Any violation of these rules may lead to disciplinary action, up to and including expulsion from the College, and/or legal action.

· Occidental College seeks to provide an inclusive and non-discriminatory environment by making it possible for students to use a lived first name and pronouns on college records when a legal name is not required. Students are encouraged to use Zoom to display their lived name and pronouns. These can be set at https://occidental.zoom.us/profile.

· Online classes may be recorded by your instructor. This means that the audio-visual and chat portions of each class may be recorded and then stored on the College’s servers. Recordings will be made available through Moodle (or another secure platform), but only for the express and sole use of those registered in the course. The recorded material will be removed at the end of the semester. No other recording of classroom instruction is permitted. The sharing, altering, or distorting of any audio-visual capture of a class session is not permitted. All content contained in the records shall be subject to the College’s Policy on Intellectual Property.

· As many of you are learning from home this semester, you may have family around who are willing and able to provide you with support. While general support is necessary and welcomed by many, in order to protect your academic growth and ensure the integrity of this course, this statement serves as a reminder that your work must be your own. While office hours are always available for students, they will not be available for parents/guardians/family members. As always, if your parent/guardian has concerns, they are welcome to contact the Dean of Students office.

Additional information

· Occidental College sits on the traditional territory and homelands of the Tongva people. Please click through to read more about the Gabrielino-Tongva tribe and about the practice of land acknowledgement.

· The Occidental College Principle of Honor states that “No student shall take unfair advantage of another student or member of the Occidental Community." I trust that you will follow this principle and act with integrity and respect for others. You must also be disciplined and organized in order to have the time and energy necessary to keep up with course materials, to think about course materials, and to write well-crafted essays. In the end, you must take responsibility for and ownership of the work you produce for this course by accepting the grade you earn. Students are expected to comply with the Student Handbook, in particular the section on Academic Ethics. (Link to the policy in the Student Handbook). Whenever outside sources are used, they must be properly credited. It is very appropriate to acknowledge the suggestion of another student, for example citing a class discussion on a specific date or a student’s comment on a preliminary draft.

· No matter the mode of course instruction, approved academic accommodations remain in effect. Students with documented disabilities and learning differences who are registered with Disability Services are required to present their accommodation letter to the instructor at the beginning of each semester, or as soon as possible thereafter. Any student who has, or thinks they may have, a physical, learning, or psychological disability may contact Disability Services at accessibility@oxy.edu to learn about available services and support. More information is available at http://www.oxy.edu/disability-services

· Consistent with Occidental College’s commitment to creating an academic community that is respectful of and welcoming to persons of differing backgrounds, we believe that students should be excused from class for reasons of faith and conscience without academic consequence. While it is not feasible to schedule coursework around all days of conviction for a class as a whole, faculty will honor requests from individual students to reschedule coursework, to be absent from classes that conflict with the identified days. Information about this process is available on the ORSL website: https://www.oxy.edu/office-religious-spiritual-life

The College has a wide range of Student Academic Support Resources.

· If you'd like to take advantage of the College's Academic Coaching resource, which offers one-on-one sessions focused on supporting your time management skills, online learning strategies, and other study skills, you may schedule an academic coaching meeting by sending an email to academiccoaching@oxy.edu. Share what you'd like to work on, and an academic coach will schedule an appointment with you within a few days.

· The Center for Digital Liberal Arts (CDLA) offers library research consultations and discipline-specific peer tutoring for coursework and language learning. We also offer peer-to-peer support for learning technologies from Moodle and Zoom to Adobe, app making, and ProTools.

· The Writing Center offers opportunities to work on all forms of writing for any class or other writing tasks such as personal statements, senior comprehensives, etc. We offer peer-to-peer consultations with knowledgeable Writing Advisers and sessions with Faculty Writing Specialists. For Spring 2021, all of our appointments will be remote: either synchronous virtual meetings or asynchronous writing feedback. See the Writing Center website for more information about our hours and how students can sign up for appointments.. Please contact the Writing Programs-Center Director, Julie Prebel (jprebel@oxy.edu; x1307) for more information on how the Center can work with you.

· Research Appointments for first year students: Individual Research Appointment

Personal Support Information:

· Your health and well-being has always impacted learning and academic success, and this reality is only heightened as we learn and live through a global pandemic. Symptoms such as anxiety, depression, loss of motivation, difficulty concentrating, and strained relationships can occur. Emmons Counseling staff are committed to supporting the mental health needs of all of our students, regardless of where you’re located. Emmons provides virtual walk-ins, crisis support, and consultation to all students, and ongoing individual telecounseling to students residing in California. All students residing outside of California will have access to ongoing telecounseling through a national telecounseling service. Emmons also assists students with finding local therapy referrals. All students continue to have access to the 24/7 confidential hotline at (323) 341-4141. To get connected to any of the free, confidential services at Emmons call (323) 259-2657 or schedule an appointment online at https://myhealth.oxy.edu using your Oxy login credentials.

· In the event that you choose to write or speak about having experienced sexual or interpersonal violence, including sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, stalking, sexual exploitation or any other form of sexual harassment, as a designated Responsible Employee, I must notify the Title IX Office. They will contact you to let you know about accommodations and support services at Oxy and reporting options both on and off-campus.

If you do not want the Title IX Office notified, instead of disclosing this information to your instructor, either through conversation or a class assignment, you can speak confidentially with the following people on campus:

· Marianne Frapwell, Survivor Advocate, Project SAFE (survivoradvocate@oxy.edu)

· Emmons Counseling (For appointments, call: 323-259-2657)

· Rev. Dr. Susan Young, Office of Religious and Spiritual Life (young@oxy.edu)

The sexual misconduct policy, along with additional resources, can be found at: http://www.oxy.edu/sexual-respect-title-ix/policies-procedures. If you would like to contact the Title IX Office directly, you can email Title IX Coordinator Alexandra Fulcher at afulcher@oxy.edu or call 323-259-1338.

· The Intercultural Community Center (ICC) seeks to uplift and support the experiences of students who identify as BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, low income or first generation college students. The ICC also aims to reduce institutional barriers for minoritized groups through intersectional programming, identity-specific services and structural resources. To learn more, contact icc@oxy.edu, or reach out directly to Chris Arguedas, at carguedas@oxy.edu.