“You Can’t Be What You Can’t See,”
Using the Periodic Table of Banned Books to
Understand the Importance of Culturally Responsive Teaching

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SESSION 1, 2 and 3: 11:00am-11:50am & 1:00pm-1:50pm | F/S | Building 2 Theater

This session will explore themes of inclusion, intellectual freedom and the importance of representation. It will also showcase how two departments with a shared vision collaborated on an extraordinary large scale project with a positive lasting impact.

Presenters:

Vonetta Lightfoot (pronouns she/her), Multicultural Affairs Operations Manager. Vonetta is responsible for developing diverse and culturally relevant programs and event planning with the goal of creating inclusive spaces on campus. In 2020 Vonetta was named one of the “100 Women of Color '' for the impact she’s made throughout the State of Connecticut and Western Massachusetts. In 2021, she was named one of Business West’s 40 Under Forty, which honors young professionals in Western Mass. — not only for their career achievements, but for their service to the community.

Erica Eynouf (pronouns she/her/hers), Dean of the Library, has been with the STCC Library since 2011. In addition to overseeing library operations at STCC, she serves as Chair of the Operations Committee for the Higher Education Libraries of Massachusetts. She also teaches in the Library Science graduate program at Simmons University. She's been reading banned books since 1983 when her rural Texas high school published a list of 100 books forbidden within the school district's curriculum.