Equity and Inclusion Statement

Why do institutional policies and department promises that support Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Anti-Racism matter?

Equity, inclusion, diversity, community - these are not just current buzz words. The CFES Department is taking a quantitative and qualitative approach to addressing the disproportionate impacts on minority groups. We join with our colleagues and campus to bring to light concepts of privilege, implicit bias, racism, sexism, ageism, ableism and work to dismantle them. We place focus in our classrooms toward wellness, anti-racist practice, building cultural competence, and inclusion. We are doing this through surveying students and collecting thousands of articles of data to inform our scheduling, program direction, and ability to provide appropriate support services. We are continuing this work in our honest discussions over topics of community cultural wealth, racial battle fatigue, and anti-bias education. The CFES department resolves to continue the work of equity, and to build a better environment for the future of education.

ELAC Academic Senate Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement

Adopted March 10, 2020

With the goal of ensuring the equal educational opportunity of all students, we, the Academic Senate of East Los Angeles College, embrace diversity among students, faculty, staff, and the communities that we serve as an integral part of our history, a recognition of the complexity of our present state, and a call to action for a better future. Embracing diversity means that we must intentionally practice acceptance and respect towards one another and understand that discrimination and prejudices create and sustain privileges for some while creating and sustaining disadvantages for others. In order to embrace diversity, we also acknowledge that institutional discrimination and implicit bias exist and that our goal is to eradicate those elements from our institution. Our commitment to diversity requires that we strive to eliminate those barriers to equity and that we act deliberately to create a safe and inclusive environment where individual and group differences are valued and leveraged for our growth and understanding as an educational community. To advance our goals of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice for the success of students and employees, we must honor that each individual is unique and that our individual differences contribute to the ability of the colleges to prepare students on their educational journeys. This requires that we develop and implement policies and procedures, encourage individual and systemic change, continually reflect on our efforts, and hold ourselves accountable for the results of our efforts in accomplishing our goals. In service of these goals, the Academic Senate of East Los Angeles College is committed to fostering an environment that offers equal employment opportunity for all. Towards that end, the Academic Senate will include a notice on ADA accommodations consistent with district policy in emails, flyers, and other documents inviting participation in its programs, services, and activities. As a collective community of learners, we are invested in cultivating and maintaining a climate where equity and mutual respect are both intrinsic and explicit by valuing individuals and groups from all backgrounds, demographics, and experiences. Individual and group differences can include but are not limited to the following dimensions: race, ethnicity, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, immigration status, sex, gender, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, registered domestic partner status, age, political beliefs, religion, creed, military or veteran status, socioeconomic status, and any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law or ordinance or regulation. We acknowledge that the concept of diversity and inclusion is ever evolving, and thus we create space to allow for our understanding to grow through the periodic review of this statement.