What is the BIPOC Virtual Writing Café?
The BIPOC Virtual Writing Café is a space where BIPOC graduate students can come together to form a supportive community of writers. It functions in much the same way as our other writing cafés and is an intentional space for BIPOC folks only. The BIPOC Writing Café is a service that directly works to include, validate, and encourage BIPOC graduate students at the University of Waterloo.
What inspired you to create this space?
I have always felt that a space like this is needed at the university. This space was developed with the understanding that one of the major barriers to academic life and success for BIPOC students is systemic racism and it is important for university services to acknowledge and address the specific needs of BIPOC students.
What are you currently working on in your graduate program?
My dissertation project, Navigating Food Futures: Post-Disaster Food Sovereignty in Puerto Rico, is ongoing work generated in 2017 which seeks to understand constraints in the lives of individuals, communities, and their food system. This project builds on earlier work in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean which started in 2015. I have been passionate about this work because it is so closely linked to my own lived experience. My other research activities have led me to various forests, ecosystems, and communities where I have enjoyed learning.
First of all, by acknowledging that academic work is creative work! We can encourage creativity by nourishing habits that help us to tap into our creativity, which is what writing cafés are all about. In addition to this, feeling safe and secure are necessary to do our best work, and I believe that creating a BIPOC-only writing café allows for BIPOC graduate students to access a safer space that values their experiences so that they can focus on their goals.
What was your favorite part about running the BIPOC Virtual Writing Café?
It was the way that we all came together to support one another and share with each other our experiences and how to best adopt healthy practices to work on writing tasks under various forms of stress and life conditions. It is important that BIPOC students are supported to rest, relax, and take care of themselves when there is so much pressure to produce writing and work nonstop, and I love encouraging colleagues to work in ways that support their well-being.
What do you see for the future of the BIPOC Virtual Writing Café program?
I believe that the BIPOC Virtual Writing Café will continue to grow and flourish into a group that supports graduate students who want to thrive in their writing projects. In addition to this, I believe it will be a space where students find support, community, and continue to show up for their betterment and for each other.
If you’re interested in contributing to the development of social writing supports for BIPOC students at UWaterloo, we are currently seeking input on the development of social writing supports for BIPOC students through our survey. This survey is intended only for individuals who identify as Black, Indigenous or a person of color and are currently enrolled in a graduate studies program at the University of Waterloo.
The deadline to complete this survey is Friday, March 18. Follow the link to access the survey:
https://uwaterloo.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9zy6hcRQmCJL0JE
If you have any questions about the BIPOC Virtual Writing Café, our survey, or would like to get in touch with Ileana Diaz, please email her at idiaz@uwaterloo.ca.