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The ongoing violence perpetrated against the Black community, compounded by the devastating, disproportionate loss of Black lives during the COVID-19 pandemic, have been painful reminders of the structural inequities faced by Black people. The Department of Biology faculty, staff, and students condemn all acts of discrimination, hate and violence against the Black community. We are deeply saddened and outraged by the injustices and damage caused by bias and systemic racism in our society. We acknowledge that bias and systemic racism exists within our department and university, and we have a responsibility to foster a more respectful, inclusive, and diverse environment for our Biology community.
We reject all forms of bias and racism, including systemic and institutional. As a department, we will not condone any acts of hate, discrimination or violence. We are opposed to injustices against the Black community and all underrepresented minorities.
We commit to eliminating the barriers and injustices that our Black community and members of all our diverse populations encounter. We pledge to listen to you, learn from you, and establish a supportive environment to make the department and greater university community inclusive and equitable places. We have established a Diversity and Inclusion Committee in our Department that is developing an action plan to foster a respectful, inclusive, and diverse environment for our Biology community. All students, faculty and staff are encouraged to use the Inclusive SDSU system to report any instances of bias that they may witness or experience.
To our students, we acknowledge that these are challenging times for you. It is understandable that you might struggle with your ability to focus on your education in the context of this anguish. Please take your time. Know that we are here for you.
