Copley Connects Fall 2025 / Spring 2026

the current trend of censorship within academic spaces and its broader implications. Dr. Odilka Santiago, Sociology, then presented “The Violence of Silence: Censorship, Power, and the Politics of Voice from the Margins,” her research on homelessness, housing insecurity, and housing injustice. Laura Turner, Associate Dean, Head of Collections, Access and Discovery, and the event moderator, provided additional context about Banned Books Week, book challenges, and censorship from a library perspective. Finally, we hosted a screening of the documentary film, Banned Together , about students fighting to return 97 books suddenly pulled from their school libraries. Banned Together is available in Copley’s collection through our streaming database, Kanopy . Students who participated in our various Banned Books Week events earned raffle tickets for a chance

to win a USD hoodie and “Right to Read” swag items. Copley Library Hosts the Inaugural Student Success Symposium

By Dr. Regina Gong , Associate Dean for Student Success and Strategic Initiatives The inaugural Student Success Symposium, organized by Copley Library, was held virtually on November 12, 2025. This year’s theme, “The Evolving Landscape of Student Success,” invited presenters to examine how academic libraries are adapting to support student success within a rapidly changing higher education environment. The free, virtual event funded by the Statewide California Electronic Library Consortium (SCELC) brought together librarians and campus partners to consider how we adapt our work to support student success amid a shifting higher education landscape. The Symposium drew 747 registrants, a strong response which underscores the need for this kind of professional development and conversation. The Symposium featured two keynote speakers: Dr. Tia Brown McNair, who challenged participants to stay focused on equity in student outcomes, and Lee Rainie, who examined how artificial intelligence is accelerating academic libraries’ digital transformation . The program showcased the depth and range of library-led student success work, featuring 32 presentations, lightning talks, and virtual posters, delivered by 61 presenters . The full proceedings of the Symposium, including presentation slides, virtual posters, and recordings, are available on the Student Success Symposium page in Digital USD. Veterans/Armistice Day

Opening Keynote Speaker Dr. Tia Brown McNair

Closing Keynote Speaker Lee Rainie

Veterans for Peace Visit Copley Library By Martha Adkins , Research and Instruction Librarian

On the evening of November 13, 2025, two days after Veterans Day, students, faculty, staff, and visitors to our campus gathered in the Mother Rosalie Hill Reading Room

to listen to the experiences of veterans of the armed forces of the United States. After a moving introduction by the San Diego Veterans for Peace President, Gary Butterfield, three veterans shared stories of their recruitment, service, and journeys toward advocacy for peace. Jack Doxey, a 94-year-old veteran of the Korean War, shared what being drafted into that conflict felt like, and the emotions of fighting across the world, in story form and in poetry he has written over the years. Barry Ladendorf, a Navy veteran who served in Vietnam, shared his experiences and changing thoughts about war and service over his time there and since returning to the United States. One of the more moving aspects

L to R: Jack Doxey and Barry Ladendorf address the audience

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