The Department of Ethnic Studies at Santa Ana College will actively seek opportunities in the study, the classroom, and across campus to enhance diversity and opportunity for individuals from historically underrepresented backgrounds. We will work with students and faculty regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, gender expression and presentation, age, religion, language, abilities/disabilities, sexual orientation, genetic disposition, neurodiversity, socioeconomic status, veteran status, criminal history, device, or connectivity, citizenship, ancestry, or country of origin. If students and faculty are committed to and engaged in the learning environment and promote the ideals for a diverse workplace, all students will be given equal and equitable opportunities.
Diversity, inclusion, equity, and access are part of our fundamental mission and are integral to achieving academic excellence. Our commitment to diversity, inclusion, equity, and access aligns well with this philosophy. We are sensitive to the challenges that ethnic minorities face in academia. Thus, over the last years, we have become determined to create an inviting environment for underrepresented minorities and socioeconomically underprivileged students. We strive for inclusiveness; we celebrate multiple approaches and points of view. Diversity drives innovation, and building a classroom culture where difference is valued creates a holistic environment conducive to learning.
We believe academia must strive to strengthen diversity with a more inclusive approach – welcoming and embracing different races, ethnicities, genders, gender expression and presentation, ages, religions, languages, abilities/disabilities, sexual orientations, genetic dispositions, neurodiversity, socioeconomic status, veteran status, criminal history, device/connectivity, citizenship, ancestry or countries of origin and create a broader pool of thought processes and worldviews. We understand the value of educators and mentors who promote an atmosphere of inclusion and enable all students to access the tools they need to be successful in their field. By providing an equal opportunity and equitable environment that fosters respect and communication across race, ethnicity, gender, gender expression and presentation, age, religion, language, abilities/disabilities, sexual orientation, genetic disposition, neurodiversity, socioeconomic status, veteran status, criminal history, device, or connectivity, ancestry, citizenship, country of origin, or other cultural communities, I will enhance the student experience and enable collaborative and innovative analysis.
Opportunity and access are essential, and every student is unique in their way. We strive to create an open, inclusive, equitable, and equal environment where every student can flourish. Moreover, we will continue incorporating diversity into our teaching materials and methods. We hope students with diverse backgrounds can find their voices in class, and our varied experience allows us the sensitivity we need to relate to them. We can contribute to our student’s personal growth, motivate them to achieve their educational goals, and boost their self-confidence. We want every student to feel welcome and wanted; as an inclusive classroom, we strive to have students be comfortable by creating a classroom that reflects the communities we serve and bring their whole authentic selves.
Diversity, inclusion, equity, and access are at the core of who we are. Our commitment to these values is unwavering across all of our work. They are central to our mission and the impact on our students. Having varied perspectives helps generate better ideas to solve the complex problems of a changing and increasingly diverse society. We know that metrics, outcomes, and funding matter, but they are only one star in a universe of learning; a responsibility to diversity and inclusion must be much more profound. This statement is more than just words for us; they are the resolute and steadfast principles guiding how we build our classroom and exist in this ever-changing world.
For a student to be engaged, they must feel included and valued. We strive to build and nurture a classroom culture where inclusiveness is a reflex, not a performative initiative. Whether corresponding to race, ethnicity, gender, gender expression and presentation, age, religion, language, abilities/disabilities, sexual orientation, genetic disposition, neurodiversity, socioeconomic status, veteran status, criminal history, device/connectivity, ancestry, citizenship, or country of origin, we must find purposeful ways to develop our understanding and support of others. Identifying ourselves as a visible and voluntary ally is vital amidst the challenges students and colleagues face, as it signifies an environment where all students and colleagues feel supported. We want all our students and colleagues to feel valued, appreciated, and free to be who they are at work and in the classroom.
As academe engaging and developing a culture of support with students and colleagues in building their skills and capacity to work inclusively with one another and the communities we serve. Making a campus culture that creates a welcoming space in which everyone recognizes their unique characteristics, skills, and experiences are respected, valued, and celebrated is vital to the success of all involved. Achieving excellence, success, access, and opportunity within academe means everyone deserves the highest level of service and respect regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, gender expression and presentation, age, religion, language, abilities/disabilities, sexual orientation, genetic disposition, neurodiversity, socioeconomic status, veteran status, criminal history, device, or connectivity, ancestry, citizenship, or country of origin. We embrace colleagues and students from these groups to help make and bring this vision a reality and to fruition.
Everyone deserves to feel safe, invincible, and equipped to thrive. This atmosphere of psychological safeness should begin at home, but for many students and colleagues, it does not exist. They may live every moment with the uncertainty of infinite stressors that tear away their self-esteem, self-worth, value, and purpose. Lack of this can lead to self-destruction, self-harm, or breakdowns where they feel they have nowhere to turn. As faculty, a department, and as academe, we must forge within the walls of our offices, classrooms, and campus a world where they can find the support, strength, and service to be whatever they need to identify, process, and move forward to becoming their best self; this should extend to the entire community we serve.
We create and connect narratives of people historically silenced and excluded due to colonization, global dominance, The Doctrine of Discovery, The Discovery Doctrine, and Manifest Destiny. We attempt to remove the barriers of race, ethnicity, gender, gender expression and presentation, age, religion, language, abilities/disabilities, sexual orientation, genetic disposition, neurodiversity, socioeconomic status, veteran status, criminal history, device, or connectivity, ancestry, citizenship, or country of origin. Diversity, inclusion, and equity start with better classroom, workplace, and academic representation, fostering engagement and retention. Our efforts in this area have to be internal to begin, so it can influence what we do externally. We will do better and be better if we create an environment of inclusion and belonging. The most extraordinary views and findings come from an eclectic combination of minds, backgrounds, and experiences, and we are relentless in cultivating inclusivity.
We value the visible and invisible qualities that make you who you are. We welcome and uplift historically marginalized identities and people. We are professionally and personally committed to commemorating the rich diversity of people who receive, live, and work in our service areas and receive our resources. Our usefulness must empower freedom of thought and opinion in a climate of mutual respect. Our programs, activities, and interactions are enriched by receiving each other as we are and praising our uniqueness and commonality. We are driven by the ideology that honoring diversity enriches and empowers the lives of all people.
The diversity of our community takes many forms. Diversity, inclusion, and equity are investments in our organization and communities, and we strive to reflect the communities we serve. We commit ourselves to promoting a better comprehension and gratefulness of our human diversity, a commitment that is best realized through our individual and collective efforts. Our path to diversity is straightforward—it regards embracing everyone from building a culture where all can bring their best and their whole authentic selves to work and the classroom to deploying diversity, inclusion, equity, and access initiatives that support everyone because this is what it takes to build an inclusive world for all.
