Holding a Moment of Silence
As you prepare for your first day of class this winter quarter, we encourage you to acknowledge the collective grief of our community for the death of Jonathan Rodriguez. A moment of silence provides time for individuals to pause and recognize their own needs and emotions and to remember the person honored in the context of a respectful and supportive community. You may wish to share with students about the history and etiquette of the moment of silence practice, and you may wish to continue this practice throughout the quarter as a grounding exercise to allow students to check in with themselves and transition to the learning environment.
When holding a moment of silence, keep a few things in mind:
- Keep your introduction short – The moment of silence is to make space for your community. It is different from a eulogy.
- Keep your language simple – Make the message accessible to everyone by using simple, direct language.
- Be mindful of your community – Tailor your words to the people participating in your moment of silence and their relationship to the person being honored if you have this information.
Below is an example of the moment of silence held in the Community Care Forums for faculty and staff the week of January 1:
We invite you to join in a moment of silence in honor of Jonathan Rodriguez and to extend compassion to his family and friends, the students and police officer still recovering from injuries, other first responders who witnessed this tragedy first hand, and our Evergreen community and the extended communities of those directly affected.
