July 2017

Dear Colorado College Board of Trustees,

For many Colorado College alums, the most valuable part of our undergraduate education was how it
prepared us to address the challenges of today and tomorrow. We feel that at the forefront of these
challenges is the intersection between economic and racial inequality in higher education. A critical
component of bridging these divides is creating an education system that benefits and empowers
everyone - regardless of race, socioeconomic status, gender identity, dis/ ability, nationality, veteran
status, citizenship status, religion or sexual orientation. However, a New York Times article from
January 18 highlighted an unfortunate reality that major gaps exist at CC - in fact, 24.2% of CCs
students come from the top 1%, but only 10.5% of students come from the bottom 60%.

As CC alum, we would like to partner with you to ensure that Colorado College is taking responsible
actions to address these vast disparities in wealth and opportunity, which it must be recognized,
disproportionately impact students of color and other marginalized groups. We were encouraged to
see in the latest issue of The CC Bulletin that CC is aiming to raise $90 million for scholarship support
and increase the number of QuestBridge scholars. In addition to the goals outlined in the Bulletin, we
believe that CC can be a leader in other ways - ways that do not necessarily require extensive
fundraising but increase our communitys commitment to racial and economic justice. Below are ten
ideas that we would like to partner with you to see implemented at CC:
1. Develop an official statement/policy that the Board and President write to declare Colorado
College a sanctuary campus, with explicit and full protections for Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrivals (DACA) students even if it means not complying with federal or state laws.
2. Provide mandatory privilege/oppression training to all first-year students, faculty and staff.
3. Revise the CC values/mission/vision statement to include a commitment to working towards
social, racial, economic, and ecological justice.
4. Prioritize financial aid to support students from low-income backgrounds and provide
scholarships to attract diverse students so that CCs student body better reflects national
demographics.
5. Develop ongoing focus groups and research on the experiences of diverse student populations
at CC.
6. Develop a written and public fundraising plan to become a needs-blind institution by 2025,
while also recognizing the importance of minimizing student debt.
7. Collect and make publically available data about retention rates broken down by race,
socioeconomic status, and other demographic categories.
8. Develop a stand-alone diversity plan with measurable goals to increase the number of faculty
from diverse backgrounds (i.e. race, LGBTQIA, ability, etc.) across disciplines and
departments.
9. Diversify the makeup of the Colorado College's Board of Trustees to include more recent
graduates, people of color, people from lower socio-economic backgrounds, and women.
10. Host public forums or symposiums to identify comprehensive solutions to educational
inequities and barriers to higher education.
We would welcome the opportunity to speak at your next board meeting to discuss these issues in
greater detail.
Some of the signatories on this letter found CC to be a welcoming and inspiring place, but others
found CC to be an alienating and marginalizing place as a result of socioeconomic and racial divides.
All of us were deeply troubled by the data presented in the January 28th New York Times article
showing a decreasing level of economic diversity at Colorado College. We all want to work with
Colorado College to be an inclusive, validating, and empowering place for all students, from the
classroom, to club meetings, to dorms, to athletic fields, and beyond.

We see this time as an incredible opportunity for CC to be a leader and for alumni involvement to
reach new heights. Many of us are looking forward to increasingly our financial commitment to CC as
the college furthers its inclusivity efforts. We sincerely hope to work with you to advance social equity
at CC.

Thank you,

Name Year of graduation (or years attended)

1. Sophia Maravell 2010

2. Sophie Glass 2009

3. Walter Long 1992

4. Mike Shum 2007

5. Sam Wilson 2009

6. Vanessa Roberts 2008

7. Justin Garoutte 2012

8. Brittin Alfred 2010

9. Nancy Hernandez 1996

10. Felisa Gonzales 2001

11. Tiffany Garza (Etter) 2008

12. Ellie Collinson 2002

13. Erin Bennett Leighton 2006

14. Katie Reichard 2012

15. Ashley Mayo 2012

 16.Julia DeWitt 2010

17. Lauren Sinnott 2010

18. Rebecca Siegel 2008

19. Nikhil Ranadive 2011

20. Joel Begay 2014

21. Annie Bossange 2009

22. Lynda Duran (Aguado) 2008

23. Stephanie Olivas 2014

24. Jason Clark 2007

25. Liz Kolbe 2008

26. Lauren Dinsmore 2014

27. Aaron Gutierrez 2008

28. Nathan Polland 2014

29. Will Rosenheimer 2010

30. Kristin Eckstein 2009

31. Nick Wing 2009

32. Rachel San Luis 2010

33. Yeshe Wingerd 2008

34. Jacob Weiss 2009

35. David Spiegel 2012

36. Madeline Furst 2010

37. Sophia Chudacoff 2008

38. Lynne Stahl 2009

39. Maria Martinez Hernandez

40. Megan Helseth 2011

 41. Tara Milliken 2014

42. Virginia Trueheart 2009

43. Macy Margolin 2012

44. Claire Jencks 2011

45. John Gudvangen 1985

46. Martha Brummitt 2011

47. Valerie Cranmer 2010

48. Adrienne Wood 2012

50. Preston Brasch 2009

51. Jesse Heaton 2008

52. Zac Chapman 2013

53. Sophie Javna 2016

54. Ruth Markwardt 2014

55. Julia Kaneb 2015

56. Daniel Lewis 2014

57. Charles Keller 2010

58. Avery Uslaner 2012

59. Andrew Toig 2010

60. Julia Sick 2011

61. Juna Rosales Muller 2010

62. Maggie Barrett 2009

63. Sam Brasch 2012

64. Stephan Gordon 2011

65. Gary Sorcher 2011

66. John Christie 2013

 67. Katie Grubb 2008

68. Jenny Friedler 2010

69. Laura Yale 2009

70. Claire Skrivanos 2010

71. Amanda Silber 2009

72. Erin Jackson 2009

73. Brenna Gomez 2009

74. Cory Beyer 2009

75. Ashley McCulloch 2012

76. Thomas Johnson 2009

77. John Armstrong 2009

78. Clara Campoli 2010

79. Melissa Tran 2012

80. Jackie Welch 2008

81. Kira Withrow 2014

82. Marina van Stirum 2009

83. Tabitha Hrynick 2009

84. Sophie Kauffman 2009

85. Casey Bowen 2010

86. B Torres 2010

87. Lauren Jenkins 2010

88. Liliana Flores Amaro 2008

89. Rachel E Wheat 2009

90. Max Harper

91. Rob Backlund 2005

 92. Tendo Kironde 2009

93. Jamie Grasse 2009

94. Alison Kelman 2009

95. Carmen Rodi 2013

96. Mark Louis Meiklejohn 2009

97. Rose Vail Bloom 2008

98. Quintana Hayden (Baker) 2009

99. Arlo Furst 2008

100. Andrew Bowen 2010

101. Anna Harmon 2009

A102. Marian Pierce 2008

103. Andrew Dick 2009

104. Peter Schumacher 2009

105. Derek Kennedy 2009

106. Annie Hillier 2009

107. Jaimie Stevenson 2008

108. Mike DiGiulio 2008

109. Lianna Wright 2008

110. Carlie (Armstrong) Steiner 2009

111. Kylie Birnbaum 2008

112. Stephen Ullman 2008

113. Megan Cancila 2008

114. Colin Stroud 2008

115. Morgan McInvaille 2009

116. Cristina Landa 2011

117. Daniel Boron-Brenner 2007

118. Rachel Greene 2012

119. Johanna Kasimow 2008

120. Julia Varnergardner 2011

121. Clara Carroll 2008

122. Peter Kernan 2011

123. Rachel Harris 2011

124. Lucy Holtsnider 2011

125. Sierra E. Fleenor 2008

126. John Knight 2010

127. Matt Giangreco 2011

128. Josephine Kingery Ravitz 2010

129. Maxwell Ravitz 2009

130. Annisa Harsha 2010

131. Katherine Standefer 2007

132. Travis Haby 2010

133. Kira Olsen 2011

134. Jimmy Singer 2011

135. Mike Larsen 2009

136. Tucker Dunn 2010

137. Matthew Kerns 2010

138. Amy Steinhoff 2010

139. Jena Carr 2008

140. Matthew Carr 2007

141. Michael Shaked 2010

142. Andrew Goldstein 2009

143. Arica Crootof 2007

144. Rachael DeWitt 2009

145. Rachel Johnson 2008

146. Jacqueline McConnaughy 2008

147. Danika Conolly 2010

148. Rachel Schwartz 2010

149. Katie Eberle 2008

150. Emma Gamelsky 2008

151. Amanda Podmore (Nichols) 2009

152. Sarah Delaney 2011

153. Hannah Sohl 2011

154. Christina Holmes 2011

155. Anais Gude 2010

156. Nate Kerr 2010

157. Rebecca Levi 2011

158. Bridgette Haggerty 2010

159. Sam Bennett 2010

160. Phoebe Lamb 2010

161. Emily Capelin Palmer 2009

162. Caitlin Swan 2009

163. Anna Perks 2010

164. Jack Teter 2013

165. Lucille Wenegieme 2011

166. Sarah White 2011

167. Nanette Phillips 2014

168. Simone Phillips 2011

169. Kyle Hemes 2011

170. Anna Morton 2007

171. Sarah Barnard 2004

172. Drew Bennett 2004

173. Shanna Katz Kattari 2006

174. Thayer Maclay 2013

175. Sendi Estrada 2013

176. Phoebe Grip 2010

177. Anya Aylesworth 2009

178. Liana Scobie 2010

179. Tara Menon 2009

180. Theresa Galli 2012

181. Gavin Cady 2012

182. Taylor Black 2012

183. Chase King 2010

184. Robert Guthrie 2008

185. Katie Reinisch

186. Joel Minor 2011

187. Elizabeth Wagner 2009

189. Katherine Goldstein 2013

190. Linnea Snyder 2010

191. Tim Ichien 2008

192. Kiran Moorty 2007

193. Sophia Peer 2011

194. Chris Carithers 1998

195. Monica Breed 1998

196. Ryan Bass 1999

197. Kai Schwartz 2008

198. Jess Hoag 2008

199. Adam Shtier 2011

200. Danielle Gear (Dubler) 2009

201. Luke Backus 2010

202. Hannah Jones 2010

203. Blair Daverman Krigbaum 2008

204. Hilary Gross 2009

205. Anya Tyson 2010

206. Lea Norcross 2006

207. Lauren Aczon 2008

208. Molly Adams 2008

209. Heather Manley 2008

210. Laura King 2010

211. Isabel McKenzie 2008

212. Robin Hutchins Otte 2007

213. Joshua Otte 2007

214. Elizabeth Jung 2008

215. Monica Breed 1998

216. Chris Carithers 1998