Storytime: A Tale About Day of The Dead
Story Time: years ago, I had just begun a new job with a fancy title at a university for graduate students. It was such an exciting time for me, professionally. I wanted to be involved in everything to establish not only relationships but new programs for the graduate side that were nonexistent at the time, and only done at the undergraduate level. Only a month into my new position, I was of course asked to be involved with DEI work as well as a committee for a Day of The Dead campus event. I found out what the undergraduate program was doing for Day of The Dead and was mortified. Part of their "celebration" was to bring a coffin on campus for students to crawl in and out of. Apparently, it had been done in the past. The staff and faculty on the planning committee assured me that it was "tasteful" and "artfully" done with respect. But I had a problem with it. I felt there were other ways to respond to the sacred and time-honored tradition than to have stud