What's Up with craig?

In this month’s installment of “Good Trouble - Stories of Activism and Necessary Trouble from Bay Area Leaders,” we are recognizing LGBTQ+ Pride Month.  While Pride Month is celebrated during June, many colleges and universities celebrate during April as most of our communities are away from campus. So we will split the difference and feature an amazing educator and activist who got started, right here at SJSU.  Dr. Kathleen Wong(Lau) had the opportunity to chat with a maven in the world of social justice education, but also an alum and former SJSU Spartan, Dr. Warren Blumenfeld.  Warren currently teaches at the University of Massachusetts - Amherst in the Social Justice Education Program in the College of Education where i had the pleasure of meeting Warren many years ago.  i was lucky enough to know Warren while a student in that program as he mentored myself and many others in our training as designers and facilitators of social justice educational courses, workshops, and dialogues.  During the summer of 2019, i had an opportunity to reconnect with Warren in Amherst at a Social Justice Education Program reunion of sorts during an Intergroup Dialogue Conference there where Warren shared with me that he was an alum of SJSU and would LOVE to join us on campus. While COVID is preventing us from connecting in person, we will have to settle for zoom for now...

Warren - not that unlike one of his colleagues/mentors, the late Dr. Maurianne Adams - has an encyclopedic mind for history and knowledge, and has always maintained a sense of humor addressing weighty topics of social oppression.  Warren has been a major contributor to the emergence of social justice education as a field, and a prolific contributor to it throughout his career.  As an author and co-editors of seminal works, Warren has written and contributed to Homophobia: How we all pay the price, Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice (the 4th edition which is about to be released), the complementary Readings for Diversity and Social Justice (also in its 4th edition), Looking at Gay and Lesbian life, and Investigating Christian Privilege and Religious Oppression in the United States amongst others.   Warren also serves as an editorial blogger for the Huffington Post, The Good Men Project, and Tikkun Daily. 

Listen to Warren and Kathy discuss many topics, such as classes Warren took with Tommie Smith and John Carlos, the early days of Gay Liberation organizing both at SJSU, as well as within the City of San Jose’s first Pride March, and coincidentally being on the SJSU campus following the 2016 elections and participating in the impromptu event facilitated by Kathy.  Listen in as Warren speaks of his most challenging and important days of his life on the SJSU campus...you’ll be glad you did.

Campus Involvement in DEI

APIDA Student Success Task Force Review>

A review team has been charged with evaluating and making recommendations for the establishment of a campus Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Student Success Center. The review team has been gathering information and conducting campus interviews and focus groups with students, staff and faculty to learn about perspectives, needs, and effective practices. The team is comprised of three primary members:

Dr. Connie Tingson-Gatuz, Vice President of Student Affairs and Mission Integration at Madonna University

Dr. Samuel D. Museus, Professor of Education Studies, University of California at San Diego

Dr. Kathleen Wong(Lau), Chief Diversity Officer, San Jose State University

The three primaries will consult with Dr. Peter Kiang, Professor and Director of Asian American Studies at University of Massachusetts, Boston.

The report is expected to be completed over the summer.  

Bias Incident Resource Team 

The Bias Incident Resource Team (BIRT) is a non-judicial, non-investigative campus based team of trained professionals that support members of San Jose State University who bring  forward initial allegations of bias. The purpose of the team is to connect individuals who have been impacted by bias incidents to education, resources, and support. When appropriate BIRT also connects individuals to appropriate offices of investigative and judicial processes for Title IX, Student Conduct and Ethical Behavior, and Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation. BIRT does not make determinations about policy violations and or crimes and does not take the place of investigation or adjudication. What BIRT does is provide resources for those cases that do not meet the level of a violation, but that nonetheless need support, intervention, and resources. BIRT members consult as a team regularly with Title IX, Student Conduct and Ethical Development, the Office of Diversity Equity & Inclusion, and DHR so that determinations can be made for appropriate resources, interventions, and support. Individuals who want to report a bias incident can do so by filling out this Bias Incident Online Form.

The Bias Incident Resource Team members are:

Kathleen Wong(Lau)

Patience Bryant

Alex Froehlich

Julie Paisant

Wendi Liss

Black Spartan Advisory Council

Representing students, faculty, and staff from a variety of divisions and departments, San Jose State University’s Black Spartan Advisory Council was formed in June 2020 in response to the ongoing injustices facing Black/African American individuals on and off campus. Co-chaired by Dr. Monica Allen and Jahmal Williams, this group of volunteers work with administration and other campus partners to advocate for full equity, recognition, inclusion for Black/African American community members.

Current Members

Campus Committee for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (CCDEI)

The CCDEI is comprised of 32 members appointed through a nomination process and co-chaired by Angee Ortega McGhee (staff), Anne Marie Todd (faculty), and Kathleen Wong(Lau), (Chief Diversity Officer) have been meeting during the months of April and May 2021. The CCDEI is a standing committee charged by President Papazian to assess and make recommendations on existing initiatives and practices that are effective in systemic change on diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as make recommendations for new initiatives. The CCDEI has formed six working groups to address issues of: 1) students; 2) staff; 3) faculty; 4) local community, including alums; 5) data; and 6) communication. The CCDEI is currently working with subcommittees to gather information on top priorities for various historically underrepresented and underserved communities to present to and inform the work of the CCDEI. The CCDEI co-chairs expects to write and submit its first report to President Papazian by June 1, 2021. The CCDEI members are appointed for two years and will continue with more extensive work in these areas starting in Fall of 2021 for a full academic year into Spring 2022 with a second report on June 1, 2022. 

Employee Connections is a monthly meeting created by ODEI for staff, faculty, and administrators where they can share a virtual lunch or coffee break with their colleagues and talk about anything and everything that may be of interest to them and/or the group. This initiative was born last year as a result of the feedback received during the pre and post election sessions that ODEI held in partnership with University Personnel, Center for Faculty Development and LifeMatters EAP by Empathia where attendees suggested the creation of a space where people could meet over zoom and connect with each other since the pandemic had limited our interpersonal interactions. The intention of the Employee Connections sessions is to help facilitate meeting new people, learning from each other, and creating community. These sessions are for all SJSU employees, including those who work for our auxiliaries. Join us!

The readings and resources in this section are designed to help our campus learn about theories, frameworks, research and resources that are helpful in addressing our key goals of diversity, equity, and inclusion by building our intellectual muscle to help us see our world, analyze our world, and apply this learning from where we are to increase equity. The readings are chosen because they are able to overview or introduce complex concepts in ways that promote understanding among a wide variety of readers, occupational foci, and time constraints. We hope you enjoy this regular posting.

Stop Telling Women They Have Imposter Syndrome For many women, feeling like an outsider isn’t an illusion — it’s the result of systemic bias and exclusion.

To retain BIPOC women faculty, colleges must remove the obstacles they face (opinion) Inside Higher Ed They must remove the major roadblocks such academics face, writes Chavella T. Pittman, who provides some key recommendations for doing so.

Boston University mental health experts publish leave of absence guides

Boston University mental health experts published a set of guides for helping students who take leaves of absence for psychological reasons.

The podcasts provided will address issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion and are also designed to help us learn about theories, frameworks, research and resources. These podcasts will help us see our world, analyze our world, and apply this learning from where we are to increase equity. We are also looking to be more inclusive and share a wide variety of learning resources that can be consumed while we are doing other things, like walking the dog, driving, exercising, making dinner, or washing the dishes. We hope you enjoy this regular posting.

I won't Pay! How did millions of dollars of Chilean student debt go up in smoke? - Radio Ambulante (Podcast in Spanish with English transcript) 

Stories of the Puerto Rican Experience (available in both languages: English and Spanish - disponible en inglés y español) 4. Vieques and the Promise To Build Back Better | La Brega

Colombia: 1152 líderes asesinados, 1153, 1154…

ColombiaSOS Presunto Podcast | Podcast on Spotify 

The Red Note - Testimonios of femicides in Ciudad Juárez

13th Annual Rainbow Graduation *Virtual* Celebration!

We are excited to celebrate our LGBTQ+ graduates this year with a *Virtual* Rainbow Graduation Celebration!  This year we will be celebrating Rainbow Graduation virtually through a tribute on our website and social media channels.

Sign Up for *Virtual* Rainbow Graduation by Today, Monday, May 10th.   

International Graduates Virtual Celebration

Honoring International Graduates Virtual Celebration

Friday, May 28, 2021 | 5:00-6:00 PM (PT) | via Zoom

ISSS welcomes graduating international students, friends, and family to join us for a virtual celebration.

Graduating students:

• Kindly confirm your attendance no later than May 20, 2021. 
• Be prepared to upload the following when you confirm your attendance:
• 1 photo of yourself 
• brief message for your fellow graduates or family (300 character limit)
• Apply to be a student speaker by May 2, 2021. (link coming soon) Two students will be selected to speak at the virtual celebration.

• Guests are welcome to attend! Guests may register here. (Note: Guest registration link is different from graduating student registration link.)

TRIO Aspire and McNair Programs 

Contact Maria Cruz at [email protected]

Veterans Program 

Contact Ryan Gwilt at [email protected]

APALI's Youth Leadership Academy is designed for students interested in exploring Asian American experience and identity, community issues and civic engagement, academic and career pathways. YLA is offered in partnership with De Anza College in the summer quarter as ASAM 10 (4 units). Students must be in college or an entering HS senior or junior this fall.

You are welcome to nominate students that might be a good fit. Students can also apply directly. As this is a popular program, interested students should complete the application before the first review date of May 18, 2021.

If you would like a brief 5 minute presentation on the program during a class session, please reach out to Phoebe, APALI's head intern, at [email protected] to schedule.

Looking forward to continuing to engage our future leaders--