As we're sure you are aware, and as President Hartzell referenced in his email of a few weeks ago, we as a nation have been witnessing a distressing rise in anti-Asian rhetoric and violence. Staff Council stands in support of our Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander colleagues, who are an integral part of our country and our UT community, and against racism and bigotry in any form. We also recognize that while words do matter, words are not enough. Part of our work in serving you, the staff members who are vital to the mission of this university, is to make progress towards UT being a workplace where all of us are valued, all of us can bring our full selves to work without fear, and all of us are recognized for our contributions.
We have worked with the Longhorn Wellness Network to offer an additional BeVocal bystander intervention workshop focusing on combating anti-Asian racism, scheduled for Thursday, April 22nd from 1:00-2:30pm (register online).
We have initiated meetings between Staff Council, the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, and the four University Resource Groups to ensure that we are aware of and focusing on issues of concern.
As we plan for a fall with more of us physically present on campus, and as there have been changes to reporting procedures on campus, we wanted to make sure everyone is aware that any reports of discrimination or harassment should now be reported to the Department of Investigation and Adjudication (DIA).
Our hope, of course, is that we will continue to pull together as a community, recognize that our differences make us stronger, and make this fall one where we can breathe a collective sigh of relief as we establish a new normal – maybe even a better one.
~Rainbow Di Benedetto, UTSC Chair 2020-2021 and representative for District 408 | she/her
~Rhonda Cox, UTSC Chair-Elect 2021-2022 and At-Large representative | she/her