DKG Alpha Epsilon

Kay and I wanted to write and share with you so much good news!

1. Please find the beautiful 2024-2025 DKG Yearbook. Here is a link.

Thank you Amber and her team for putting together our best yearbook yet!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Sd6eyyqjU3Bb5A76M_YPsu3SnvWuHKFv/view?usp=sharing

If you would like a printed copy, please do not hesitate to reach out to Amber or myself.

2. I want to thank ALL who made our annual December meeting/silent auction a HUGE success! Not only was it a wonderful event, but together we raised $1947 in auction proceeds and donations. We have delivered $1752 to the Family Resource Center (please look for this in our DKG news). The additional 10% was added to our Alpha Epsilon general fund.

In closing, we pray that you had a wonderful time this holiday season with friends and family. For those that the holidays were not the same, because you have experienced loss of loved ones, caring for others who are ill, or you are struggling with illness yourself, please know we are here and want you to know we understand and are willing to help, as you need us. I want to personally thank you for the opportunity to stand on your shoulders and see our chapter flourish, experience this wonderful sisterhood with you, and be uplifted in my service to others. I pray you feel the same.

Happy New Year,

Kay and Melissa

Our speaker on Tuesday January 14th will be Rose Weaver, Poet-Laureate of Oak Ridge. She is an active member of the Oak Ridge community, a poet, and a historian, and is currently working on researching the history of desegregation of the area and the people who have had the greatest impacts in shaping Oak Ridge, including the "Oak Ridge 85."

Please join us at Robertsville Baptist Church at 4:30 for social time and our presentation and meeting beginning at 5:00.

From the Leadership Links sent earlier from Melissa:

TNSO ADVANCED LEADERSHIP SEMINAR The Advanced Leadership Seminar is scheduled for February 28 - March 1, 2025 at Henry Horton State Park. (See more details in "News of Committees" below.) The link to register is: https://forms.gle/AMEpyPFcs8kWchBC7 and the deadline is January 3, 2025. Special thanks to Belinda Juergens and the Leadership Development Committee for facilitating two excellent Beginning Leadership Seminars this biennium.

TNSO LEGISLATIVE FORUM The next Legislative event will be An Evening with Missy Testerman, National Teacher of the Year on Tuesday, February 25, 2025 at the TEA Building in Nashville. There will be opportunities to go "on the hill" the next day. (See more information in "News of Committees" below) The Legislative Award form is being updated. Criteria for receiving the award is attached to this newsletter, so you can go ahead and begin planning chapter activities.

Ruthie Gordon – Celebrating Virginia Bowers

- Ruthie Gordon spoke about the passing of Alpha Epsiolon member Ginny Bowers.

"She exemplified excellence. She taught 3rd grade at Willowbrook and taught Sunday School. She was a true crime fan and avid member of her book club. She as a proud grandmother to eight grandchildren and a proud DKG member."

As we mentioned earlier, the Christmas Silent Auction and entertainment by the ORHS Chorale singers was a great time. Food and fellowship were excellent, as always! Here are some pictures of our event.

Caramia Milloway was our speaker in October. She has been the ORHS librarian for 12 years.

(Shortened/Edited Presentation):

- Library bill of rights is the basis for what Caramia does and it was started in 1938 in response to growing intolerance and suppression of freedom of speech

- Library bill of rights includes the following: books and resources provided should be for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people, materials with different viewpoints of current and historical issues should be available, privacy and confidentiality should be maintained, libraries should challenge censorship

The American Library Association documented a huge uptick in book challenges in recent years. The difference between challenges and bans is that challenges means it has to go through a process to determine if it is to be pulled from the shelf whereas bans are when it has to be removed from the shelves. The general public can challenge but not ban books. Legislation, school boards, maybe city councils can ban books.

2024 is on track to have fewer book challenges than 2023. Caramia attributes this to “soft challenges." Soft challenges are when librarians or others curating books refrain from ordering books that might be considered controversial to avoid backlash. Public libraries receive more challenges nationwide than schools.

In 2022, The TN Age appropriate materials act TCA 49-6-3801 passed which required all books available to students be posted online and that books were age appropriate and follow the educational mission of the school. Caramia noted that this act initially caused very few changes to the ORHS collection but required teacher libraries to be cataloged.

However, 2024 amendment to this act greatly impacted the ORHS library.

- The amendment required the following: excerpts from books can be pulled out of context for the purpose of determining appropriateness and no nudity or sexual acts permitted with no allowance for literary, artistic, political or scientific value

- The universal definition of what is appropriate in all schools k-12 means that material in the high school library must be appropriate for a kindergartener

- This led to unintended consequences of depleting books in the following subject areas: fine arts, world religion, biology, mythology, anatomy, health, and world history

- ORHS removed over 200 books this summer because of this legislation

- As of now, there is no penalty defined for districts or librarians

- The Tennessee Association of School Libraries expressed concerns and there is potential litigation on the way that will lead to the retraction or changing of this act because of the unintended consequences.

- TN now has a government group called the Textbook and Instructional Materials Quality Commission that can ban books state-wide

Please share your Member News - send pictures or text to Nancy Witick nwitick@gmail.com

XI State DKG webpage: https://tndkg.org