FIT Civility Initiative

October 15 is International Pronouns Day, and we are pleased to offer an LGBTQ+ and Ally Safe Zone training session for our faculty and staff. This in-person training includes: 

• Opportunity for participants to reflect on their earliest messages regarding the LGBTQ+ community and where they received these messages
• Terminology review
• What it means to identify as genderqueer/nonconforming or as a transgender person
• What it means to “come out”
• How to be an ally to LGBTQ+ students/peers and best practices for making your classroom/office more inclusive

This is an in-person training, and participants are required to stay for the entire three hours. Those who complete this training will receive a “Safe Zone” symbol to display in their office. This symbol indicates that you are an ally who has been properly trained on LGBTQ+ issues, terminology, and ways to support those in need. 

Join the 800-plus FIT community members who have already been Safe Zone trained, by registering.

You must be signed into your FIT Google account to access the registration form.

Space is limited, and registration will close once the session is full.

Questions? Please contact [email protected].

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Ride With Delivery Workers captures the challenges and determination of immigrant food delivery workers in New York City. Through the untold stories of predominantly Chinese workers, this film not only unites them but also amplifies the strength of their collective voice. The narrative follows their pursuit of fair working conditions and the freedom to ride their electric bicycles without the constant threat of hefty fines, confiscation, or arrest. Collaborating with the workers, director Jing Wang weaves a deeply personal, first-person tapestry that explores resilience, community, and the quest for justice. The narrative reaches its peak during the pandemic, as these workers are simultaneously hailed as frontline essential workers and condemned as the scapegoats for the “Chinese virus.” The film received a grant from the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund in 2023.

Director Jing Wang is an immigrant from China and a multimedia artist based in New York. The name Jing means “quiet” in Chinese. However, she has found her voice by speaking out loud in her art. Wang’s creative works focus on social justice and labor issues within the immigrant community. Wang has received several prestigious fellowships and awards, including the 2024–2025 Sundance Institute/The Asian American Foundation Fellowship, the One House Filmmakers Fund, and CUNY’s Social Practice faculty fellowship. A graduate of Hunter College’s integrated media arts program, Wang currently teaches film and media courses at Stony Brook University and LaGuardia Community College.

Presented by
Larry Tung, assistant professor, Marketing Communications
Emma Ben Ayoun, assistant professor, Film and Media Studies
Asian Student Network

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Adapt/Evolve is a multidisciplinary exhibition that considers various approaches to designing for accessibility as well as adaptive design’s relationship to culture and society. Fashion, jewelry, toy, and interior designs by FIT faculty, students, and alumni, and by invited designers and artists highlight creative new approaches to adaptive and inclusive design. The design objects and projects on view in Adapt/Evolve bring to light a network of care, interdependence, and access to good design for all, paving the way to a built world that supports everyone. 

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This symposium accompanies the exhibition Adapt/Evolve, on display in the Art and Design Gallery September 18–October 26, 2025. It brings together exhibitors, collaborators, and scholars to present and discuss adaptive and inclusive design.

A keynote presentation will be delivered by Grace Jun, associate professor at the University of Georgia, founding member of Open Style Lab, specializing in interdisciplinary design processes, and author of the book Fashion, Disability & Co-design (Bloomsbury Publishing 2024). In addition, the symposium will host panel discussions investigating adaptive design with invited guests and FIT faculty, students, alumni, and industry leaders such as OFS and the Adaptive Design Association. FIT alumni, who have launched their own adaptive brands, include Haley Schwartz (Vertige Adaptive), Helya Mohammadian (SlickChicks), haptic device designer Keith Kirkland, and Kevin Santana, co-founder of the children’s sensory-wear brand Comphie.

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Every day we lead and participate in spaces within this FIT community. These spaces are diverse, including academic classrooms, student support offices, student clubs and organizations, residence halls, and more. Although civility is important in all of these spaces, we can’t assume it is easy. And although civility can be challenging, we can’t assume it is impossible. Professional staff, administrators, and faculty must intentionally partner with students to continuously co-create and reimagine our spaces in order to prioritize civility. In this session, we will identify the limits of conventional approaches to civility, demonstrate how to intentionally and continuously co-create brave spaces with and for one another, and establish the effectiveness of committing to a comprehensive model that doesn't leave care and civility to chance.

Meaghan Davis, associate director, Leadership and Civic Engagement; assistant professor, Department of Student Life

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