Solidarity with our Black Community: April 2021 Progress Report

Last summer (2020), current events struck the hearts of many. Communities of color were suffering from racism, racial violence, and xenophobia in a variety of ways.  The senseless murder of George Floyd in addition to the general turmoil and increased physical acts of racism prompted our office to issue a Statement of Solidarity with Our Black Community.  As many others have, we also recognized that we must be proactive in eradicating racism in all its forms and vocal in our repudiation.  On January 6, 2021 many attempted to disrupt our democracy and disenfranchise the voices of millions of voters.  A coup was attempted to prevent the confirmation of the people’s choice for the United States presidency.  This resulted in vandalism, disturbing imagery, injury, death and the trauma that coincides with all of those factors.  Looking at images of the scene, which included the construction of gallows, terrorists with weapons, zip ties, and hateful racist t-shirts, it is clear how things could have escalated much further to amass more destruction.  We are grateful for the quick thinking of many on the scene, such as Officer Eugene Goodman and others who risked their lives, saved lives, and prevented further harm.

As disturbing as this is, there is a historic precedent to disenfranchise voters, notably voters of color, and terrorize them into compliance.  Acts such as grandfather clauses, literacy tests, poll taxes, physical intimidation, violence, threats, murder, gerrymandering, and other injustices have occurred historically.  Yet, despite actions to undermine our most recent presidential election, the will of the people was upheld through the support of many, including grassroot activists and organizations across the country that galvanized voters. Notable efforts include those of Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Stacey Abrams, and her work in Southern states.

Transparency in our efforts, as well as the recent events of January 6, 2021, the Insurrection at our Nation’s Capital, has propelled us to revisit our statement of solidarity and provide a progress report of our efforts thus far.  More than ever before, it is important that we acknowledge and denounce injustice.  We are educating ourselves and taking our cues from noted scholars, activists, and trusted authorities in this work.  Referencing a recent virtual presentation from our very own Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging, Lasana Hotep, along with Dr. Luke Wood, and Dr. Frank Harris III through CORA (Center for Organizational Research and Education) Black Minds Matter Series, we are noting and following their recommendations to frame this statement.  We share some of the actions taken by our office since our Statement of Black Solidarity in May 2020 to support justice, equity, cultural humility, and racial harmony:  

 a. Representation matters, and to better serve our diverse student population, we have intentionally recruited and advertised openings through identity based staff groups to support expanding the diversity among our staff.  In 2019, prior to the campus closure due to COVID-19 and the subsequent hiring freeze, we were able to add 13 new staff members.Two of the new staff are supervisors and are women of color, notably African American and Latinx.  Of our 13 new hires, 80% are people of color and belong to underrepresented minorities on the UC Berkeley campus.  In addition, three opportunities for promotion within our office have gone to existing staff who also happen to be of color. 

b. We have been intentional in recruiting a diverse peer student staff for our Peer Adviser program.  We are intentional in how we advertise and share opportunities with offices that serve and support diverse student populations.  We are also mindful in our training of our student staff to incorporate cultural humility.  Our most recent recruitment efforts for our peer student staff for Fall 2021 has resulted in the hiring of 9 peers that all identify as students of color.

c. We have updated our office mission and values and have been intentional about including social justice and cultural humility. We worked intentionally to define how these concepts show up in our work and continue to engage in specific trainings to support staff in ongoing growth in these areas.

d. Our office’s continued training has included restorative justice work, and professional development to serve diverse populations even through a remote delivery model. Examples of such professional development include: NCORE (National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in American Higher Education), First Gen Conference, NACADA (National Academic Advising Association) conferences, ACPA (American College Personnel Association) conference, BIO (Berkeley International Office) presentations, etc. We have been grateful to leadership for funding to support professional development and for staff to have the opportunity to purchase literature to inform and support their professional practice.

e. As an office we have been intentional in making all students feel welcomed and measuring those efforts.  We have begun capturing in our post-appointment evaluations how welcome students have felt and capturing how our advisers have utilized cultural humility during appointments.  An example of a post-appointment survey question is for a student to rank the following “Adviser treated me with respect, and demonstrated cultural humility during the appointment”.  Post-advising appointment survey results showed that 99% of respondents agreed with this statement. This statement, along with other questions such as whether the adviser made a student feel welcomed, are part of the data we are measuring our success with. 

f. We have specifically focused on strengthening partnerships with identity-based campus partners as well as those who serve traditionally marginalized populations. We currently offer Satellite Advising (L&S advising offered through a campus partner office) through partnership with the African American Student Development Office (AASD), Chicanx and Latinx Student Development Office (CLSD), Asian and Pacific Islander Student Development Office (APASD), Disabled Students Program (DSP), Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), The Transfer Student Center, and developing how we can best support Native American Student Development Office (NASD).  We have staff liaisons that meet routinely with the Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC) and a staff liaison to the Berkeley International Office (BIO).  In addition, a variety of the advising staff consider themselves allies to undocumented students and allies of the LGBTQ+ communities, supporting their efforts and staying abreast of the Undocumented Student Program and GenderEq office to support students with resources. L&S Satellite Advising has a positive impact on the populations served. Students’ feedback demonstrates that the diversity of our staff is important, and that this service is already filling a need for representation. Students often meet with a College Adviser for the first time in these appointments and have noted that connecting with an adviser with a similar background and community experience is important. In addition to offering Satellite Advising, our office also partners and volunteers for orientations and other campus events supporting diverse student populations.

g. We are mindful of diversity in our imagery on social media, websites, and newsletters.  Our Communications Team and staff consult campus branding professionals and continually participate in professional development.

h. Our office staff have supported campus efforts to de-name campus buildings after those who have a history of racism, disenfranchisement, mistreatment, and perpetuation of racism and falsehoods among any group of people. Our staff has supported the work of the Building Name Review Committee and recognize their efforts.

i. We have been successful towards making our platforms more accessible to all and incorporating more education and awareness of ADA (American Disabilities Act) compliance.  During this time of pandemic, there has been an overwhelming reliance on technological tools to connect us all.  Reviewing our own website and tools we have improved ADA accessibility from an approximation of 69% to 96%.

j. We recognize areas where student populations, such as sophomore students, could receive more support and have begun pilot programs to support this work. We have developed sophomore courses and newsletters through L&S Advising that also speak directly to Vice Chancellor Koshland’s initiative to support the sophomore student population. Our office has sought ways to support this population without duplicating the work of other esteemed offices. 

k. Our Graduate Mentors program includes diverse graduate students who support and advise students in the college.  Students can meet with Graduate Mentors to obtain support on time management, study strategies, navigating communication with faculty in office hours, exploring internships, research, academic opportunities, graduate school considerations and other tips.  Our Graduate Mentors, lovingly referred to as the Grad Mentors are also supportive, friendly allies to help connect students with resources. 

l. We recognize that sexual violence and sexual harrassment (SVSH) is a symptom of a climate of disrespect for people from traditionally marginalized identity groups such as Black, Indigenous and People of Color; women; trans/gender non-conforming people; people with disabilities; and, others. Our office staff are part of the Coordinated Community Review Team (CCRT), a Chancellor’s committee that takes “a collaborative approach to preventing and responding to SVSH at UC Berkeley. The CCRT provides advice to campus leadership regarding best practices in policies, education, prevention, and response, with the goal of creating meaningful cultural transformation in our community.”

m. Our office staff are part of a campus team creating an equity-oriented academic coaching and advising program for student services staff. The overarching goal of the curriculum is to provide a way for UC Berkeley student services staff to develop an anti-racist, justice-focused, reflective framework and practice that will aid in an increased sense of belonging for Black, Indigenous and People of Color and other traditionally marginalized staff.

n. We stand with our Asian and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community against violent, unjust attacks.  We rebuke all racism.  We stand against xenophobic rhetoric and racist attacks.  We have also included the addition of another staff member of AAPI identity to support the diverse and changing needs of Asian American, Pacific Islander, South Asian, Southwest Asian and North African (AA/PI/SSWANA) communities via APASD satellite advising.

None of these actionable items are meant to allude that our work is done.  However, we recognize this work is ongoing and we have put action and accountability behind our statement. To encourage your own self-care, our Graduate Mentors Program and staff have identified some resources below and other links refer to resources from some of our campus colleagues: