TicketsCINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati Department of Athletics and its Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) will kick off Pow6rful Minds week by continuing its #BearcatsUnited messaging, a combined departmental effort to increase awareness of social justice and inequality issues.
#BearcatsUnited was established this past spring in light of a number of continued injustices towards people of color. The football team is wearing a #BearcatsUnited decal on the rear helmet bumper this season and other teams will wear patches on their uniforms as their seasons are implemented to show the combined unity of our Bearcats community.
Baseball student-athlete Nate Moore helped lead the charge to rename UC's baseball stadium in June 2020. Moore and baseball Coach Scott Googins were featured on the Behind the Bearcats podcast recently to talk about how the name change push came together.
Following the renaming of the baseball stadium, SAAC made a formal statement which stated its goals for the 2020-21 year, including: establishing a mandatory day off for athletic-related activities on Voting Day, creating a Black Student-Athlete Association, supporting racial equality across campus, bringing awareness to gender discrimination, standing alongside the LGBTQ+ community, promoting local businesses across the University, implementing Bias Training and Educational Classes and celebrating Black History Month.
To date, SAAC has created the Bearcast Your Vote initiative, which has successfully assisted in getting nearly 100% of UC's student-athletes registered to vote in their respective home states. The Black Student-Athlete Association was implemented in September and will be led by Arthur Greenlee IV from men's track and field and Shannon Williams from volleyball, with coaches and staff members serving as advisors.
Additionally, many student-athletes and teams have used their social media platforms to share thoughts, ideas and feelings.
SELECTED SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS
• #BearcatsUnited on Twitter
• Women's Basketball Message (May 2020)
• Football Team Message (Aug. 2020)
• Men's Basketball Message (Sept. 2020)
• Coaches Social Justice Message (Oct. 2020)
Additional initiatives have been spearheaded by student-athletes and staff, with some already in progress and many more planned for the future.
ONE TEAM FALL PANEL DISCUSSION
• Each academic year the One Team Committee hosts two panel discussions focusing on diversity and inclusion.
• This fall's virtual panel will be made up of UC student-athletes, coaches and staff and will focus on racial and social injustice.
• UC's panel discussions occur twice a year and have covered race, LGBTQ, mental health and international student-athletes in past sessions.
POW6RFUL MINDS WEEK
• The American Athletic Conference's Pow6rful Minds Week takes place Oct. 4-10, coinciding with Mental Illness Awareness Week.
• With the inception of its Pow6rful Minds Campaign in the fall of 2017, The AAC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) has helped create awareness to mental health issues and the resources available for student-athletes.
• The definitive goal has been to end the stigma related to seeking help and promoting academic and personal success through a healthy, powerful mind.
AAC RACIAL EQUALITY ACTION GROUP
• The AAC has created content online regarding the AAC REAG, which contains important information and updates from schools across the conference footprint.
• Niki Cianciola, UC's Director of Sport Services, track and field student-athlete Arthur Greenlee IV and women's basketball student-athlete Zenzele Apesemaka-Vital were elected to the AAC REAG board.
The department created its own social justice statement, which now hangs proudly on the main floor of the Richard E. Lindner Center.
DEPARTMENT OF ATHLETICS SOCIAL JUSTICE STATEMENT
The University of Cincinnati Department of Athletics is committed to the advancement of all student-athletes, coaches, and staff members. The core belief is a point of pride for our department and our university.
As One Team, we strive to create a welcoming culture of equality, inclusiveness and social justice for all races, ethnicities and genders. Our department has a responsibility to promote the wellbeing of all student-athletes, coaches, staff, students, and guests regardless of their sex, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, creed, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity and expression, as well as other dimensions of diversity.
We seek to value each individual's unique differences and to ensure our student-athletes, coaches, and staff members receive the full opportunity to achieve their goals and change the world.
One Team | One Family | Many People | All Equal
FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For all the latest information on Cincinnati athletics, please visit GoBEARCATS.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow Cincinnati Athletics on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
#BearcatsUnited was established this past spring in light of a number of continued injustices towards people of color. The football team is wearing a #BearcatsUnited decal on the rear helmet bumper this season and other teams will wear patches on their uniforms as their seasons are implemented to show the combined unity of our Bearcats community.
Baseball student-athlete Nate Moore helped lead the charge to rename UC's baseball stadium in June 2020. Moore and baseball Coach Scott Googins were featured on the Behind the Bearcats podcast recently to talk about how the name change push came together.
Following the renaming of the baseball stadium, SAAC made a formal statement which stated its goals for the 2020-21 year, including: establishing a mandatory day off for athletic-related activities on Voting Day, creating a Black Student-Athlete Association, supporting racial equality across campus, bringing awareness to gender discrimination, standing alongside the LGBTQ+ community, promoting local businesses across the University, implementing Bias Training and Educational Classes and celebrating Black History Month.
To date, SAAC has created the Bearcast Your Vote initiative, which has successfully assisted in getting nearly 100% of UC's student-athletes registered to vote in their respective home states. The Black Student-Athlete Association was implemented in September and will be led by Arthur Greenlee IV from men's track and field and Shannon Williams from volleyball, with coaches and staff members serving as advisors.
Additionally, many student-athletes and teams have used their social media platforms to share thoughts, ideas and feelings.
SELECTED SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS
• #BearcatsUnited on Twitter
• Women's Basketball Message (May 2020)
• Football Team Message (Aug. 2020)
• Men's Basketball Message (Sept. 2020)
• Coaches Social Justice Message (Oct. 2020)
Additional initiatives have been spearheaded by student-athletes and staff, with some already in progress and many more planned for the future.
ONE TEAM FALL PANEL DISCUSSION
• Each academic year the One Team Committee hosts two panel discussions focusing on diversity and inclusion.
• This fall's virtual panel will be made up of UC student-athletes, coaches and staff and will focus on racial and social injustice.
• UC's panel discussions occur twice a year and have covered race, LGBTQ, mental health and international student-athletes in past sessions.
POW6RFUL MINDS WEEK
• The American Athletic Conference's Pow6rful Minds Week takes place Oct. 4-10, coinciding with Mental Illness Awareness Week.
• With the inception of its Pow6rful Minds Campaign in the fall of 2017, The AAC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) has helped create awareness to mental health issues and the resources available for student-athletes.
• The definitive goal has been to end the stigma related to seeking help and promoting academic and personal success through a healthy, powerful mind.
AAC RACIAL EQUALITY ACTION GROUP
• The AAC has created content online regarding the AAC REAG, which contains important information and updates from schools across the conference footprint.
• Niki Cianciola, UC's Director of Sport Services, track and field student-athlete Arthur Greenlee IV and women's basketball student-athlete Zenzele Apesemaka-Vital were elected to the AAC REAG board.
The department created its own social justice statement, which now hangs proudly on the main floor of the Richard E. Lindner Center.
DEPARTMENT OF ATHLETICS SOCIAL JUSTICE STATEMENT
The University of Cincinnati Department of Athletics is committed to the advancement of all student-athletes, coaches, and staff members. The core belief is a point of pride for our department and our university.
As One Team, we strive to create a welcoming culture of equality, inclusiveness and social justice for all races, ethnicities and genders. Our department has a responsibility to promote the wellbeing of all student-athletes, coaches, staff, students, and guests regardless of their sex, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, creed, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity and expression, as well as other dimensions of diversity.
We seek to value each individual's unique differences and to ensure our student-athletes, coaches, and staff members receive the full opportunity to achieve their goals and change the world.
One Team | One Family | Many People | All Equal
FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For all the latest information on Cincinnati athletics, please visit GoBEARCATS.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow Cincinnati Athletics on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.