In this meeting we spoke about the ways in which working through a pandemic imposes a myriad of stressors upon Professors generally and even more so for those who inhabit marginalized identities. From the problematic of having to care for children and parents and the stress of keeping them safe, the stress of obtaining vaccine appointments, the stress of the unknown, the stress of white supremacist terrorism to negotiating the even larger burden of emotional labor at work right now it is hard to not feel completely burnt out and exhausted. We spoke about what the pandemic will mean for marginalized faculty who are up for tenure in the next few years who will be expected to produce even more material then their colleagues during a time where many are struggling just to get through the day. We also talked about how much emotional labor and work there will be to do when we return to in-person teaching and that this will be a long-term project as the traumas incurred during this time are so far reaching. We spoke about the need for more full professors at KCC in order to begin to move away from the center always having the floor to speak and make decisions that have large long term effects. We spoke about the huge need to be teaching from an anti-racist perspective always and especially now. We thought about what it would look like if well-being was centered when we return to school and what it would look like if we thought about happiness, fulfillment, and even joy as part of the learning experience and what that might feel like in an embodied sense especially in the aftermath of this time period.
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