DEIG Student Materials Fund
Fiber Department
Spring 2024
We acknowledge that providing Black, Indigenous + People of Color with financial support for supplies and waiving class fees is a form of reparations. We understand that reparations radiate throughout communities, making everyone's lives more whole. The Fiber Department has identified a fund to provide financial support for BI+POC students currently enrolled in a fibers course. Alumni, friends of the department and department faculty have donated to this fund to support our students. We have also secured additional funds from the Fine Arts Division. This is an unequivocal commitment from the department, and we want to be clear and transparent regarding our current capacity.
This fund has been spurred on by student demands. Currently, we are unable to do a blanket waiver of all material fees, but we will utilize this fund to help subsidize fees for this Fall 2023 semester. We will continue to work with the Advancement Office to identify additional resources that our department can rely on since our budget has been reduced as a result of COVID-19. We also make a departmental commitment to continue our advocacy for the institution to commit to financial support of our BI+POC students as a form of reparations.
Additionally, BI+POC Fiber Majors who are enrolled in Fiber courses but do not have a material fee can request material cost support. Please speak with your course instructor for further information.
Any student currently enrolled in a Fiber Course who self-identifies as a BI+POC student, can request a reduction of their material fee.
Process:
1.Please email the department Chair, Kristine Woods kwoods@mica.edu and your current fiber course instructor with your request by February 26th @5pm.
2.Please place in the heading of your email Funds for BI+POC. We will not be able to make exceptions to the February 26th @5pm deadline.
Once requests are received by February 26th, we will use available funds to reduce your material fee. We will email you your reduced balance and instructions for paying at the bookstore.
If you or someone you know would like to donate to this special and supportive fund you can visit this link: https://www.mica.edu/give-to-mica/. Click Make A Gift and Choose Other to specify Friends of Fiber.
Link to Author Ta-Nehisii Coates’ article about reparations, from The Atlantic, 2014
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/06/the-case-for-reparations/361631/