The Board of Trustees passed a Call to Action resolution and named three co-leaders for the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force.
The resolution in the Board of Trustees meeting on June 16, minutes said Citrus cultivates “cultural awareness” in a safe and accessible environment, while embodying “equity and accountability.”
Citrus College appointed President of the Academic Senate Nickawanna Shaw, Vice President of Student Services Dr. Martha McDonald and the Dean of Social and Behavioral Sciences Dr. Dana Hester as co-leaders for the DEI Task Force.
Shaw said in an email on June 30 the college plans to end inequality by looking into Citrus’s structure, asking what type of framework the college instills, how to address it and how to evolve to “meet the 21st century.”
Shaw also said in an email on July 3 the task force needs to first make a “massive” review of everything that guides faculty in their college and engage in “antiracist training.”
“That is our primary task,” Shaw said.
McDonald said the Call to Action resolution was based on the Board of Trustees continuous path of equity and inclusion and was “thrilled and encouraged” by the college’s response.
The task force had its first meeting on June 26, the DEI Task Force’s website said. The co-leads plan to send out an update summarizing the task force’s progress to the college after each meeting and ultimately informing students, faculty and staff, Hester said in an email on July 5. Shaw said the Task Force will share the group’s work publicly through the DEI Task Force’s website.
Shaw said not having all the answers to issues within the college after the first meeting is “refreshing.”
“I think having ugly truths be resolved quickly is the opposite of what is needed,” Shaw said. “… ‘Band aid’ quick solutions do not solve the injury, they just hold in the hurt.”
Superintendent/President Geraldine M. Perri, Ph.D., said in an email to staff on June 16 the task force makes sure Citrus’s policies, inside and outside the classroom, hiring and promoting employees and support services for Citrus students are all inclusive.
“I am pleased to note that 29 individuals from our college, including students, faculty and staff have committed to being a part of the DEI Task Force and have already had their first meeting,” Perri said in an email on July 6.
The Task Force is an outgrowth of the State Chancellor’s Call to Action plan, where Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley said he takes action against systemic racism.
“The Chancellor’s Call to Action has inspired many colleges in our system to try to do more to support diversity, equity, and inclusion, such as forming our Task Force,” Hester said.
Hester said after working for Citrus College for 22 years, her knowledge in the college’s structures, plans and policies and the relationships she’s made allows her to support the work of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force.
“I approach this work with sincerity, humility, and respect and recognize and welcome that I will continue to grow and develop through this process,” Hester said.
Hester said that she’s tried to learn other viewpoints and culture to develop sensitivity and understand others’ needs and challenges.
Shaw said the other jobs of the task force is to find issues related to systemic racism and “bring them to light,” by reviewing all of the planning, policy and procedural documents.
“Reworking inequality will lead to changes that ripple out, hopefully making the work of the categorical programs and grant funded support services even more effective because we will be removing barriers that make being in college harder,” Shaw said.
Shaw said she feels supportive of the Call to Action and feels the state took too long to address a Call to Action even through the discrimination of Black people throughout history.
Shaw also said people often believe they’re powerless, when in reality they’re not.
“In fact, the system of oppression prefers you believe such a thing: that racism is too big to fight,” Shaw said. “And that is wrong.”
McDonald said she recommends students to have an open mind, listen and educate themselves on how to address diversity, equity and inclusion based on facts.
Hester said students should try to limit the “bias and racism” within their peers and make personal connections to “change perceptions, behaviors and actions.”
Shaw said students have a voice through their means of spending, the ideas they share, the votes they cast and “speaking truth to power” by removing politicians not in favor of the future students need.
The Citrus College’s DEI Task Force’s website provides the team’s objectives and a set of links outlining the school’s progress with Call to Action and actions against systemic racism.
The 2019-2021 Student Equity Plan on the DEI Task Force’s website, approved on June 18, 2019, outlines the college’s actions toward inclusivity, such as trasngender sensitivity workshops to increase awareness for the transgender community and expanding courses on ethnic studies and multiculturism studies at Citrus.
Director of Human Resources Robert Sammis put together an Equal Employment and Opportunity Plan, updated March 2019, ensuring equal employment opportunities and allowing a safe space for freedom of speech and expression for all men, women, people with disabilities and people from other ethnic groups.
“Employing an anti-racist approach is a continuum on which we can all continue striving to be and do better,” Hester said.
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Any person who’s experienced discrimination for their race, religion, skin color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, marital status, sex, age, gender, gender identity, gender expression and/or sexual orientation can send a discrimination complaint letter to the Manager of Human Resources and Staff Diversity and Title IX coordinator Brenda Fink at bfink@citruscollege.edu or call Fink at 626-914-8830 to speak with her directly.
