Dear Hornet Community,
In response to what we are hearing from our Palestinian, Southwest Asian, and North African (SWANA) campus community members, the Division of Inclusive Excellence (IE) will establish a Task Force to Address Islamophobia at Sac State to enhance our ability to prevent acts that erode the feeling of belonging, that do not promote psychological, physical, and cognitive safety, and that are otherwise discriminatory and oppressive. We are taking this step as part of a commitment to ensure that our campus continues the journey to be an antiracism and inclusive campus that is welcoming and safe for all.
Unfortunately, Islamophobia has presented itself on and around college campuses throughout the nation in the form of doxing, often equating support for Palestine with support for terrorism, insecurity in academic freedom to discuss historical and political issues related to Palestine, and in the form of gestures and speech that dehumanize and criminalize Palestinian/ SWANA people. As a campus, we have already responded immediately to reported threats, hate symbols and images, and other behaviors inconsistent with policies, laws, and our values. We have taken an inventory of what institutional supports are in place for SWANA communities on campus and have found that a significant resource gap exists.
We know that Islamophobia can escalate during times of international conflicts, and we acknowledge the pressing need to ensure we are prepared as a campus to support members of our SWANA communities. We also acknowledge the desire for campus-wide bold and definitive messaging on actions related to genocide, ethnic cleansing, and land occupation that appear from a historical and humane standpoint to be indefensible.
Therefore, the Task Force to Address Islamophobia will be a critical mechanism for ensuring our campus can better serve the SWANA communities, increase security to advocate for self-determination and self-actualization, to better prevent and respond to the root causes of Islamophobia intentionally. The Task Force of 12-15, students, staff, faculty, and administrators will be charged to develop a SWANA Initiative to:
- Co-create an educational webpage on Islamophobia
- Explore ways to protect academic freedom, while preserving the dignity and critical perspectives of all students.
- Identify practical and legal ways to address hate speech on a public college campus as well as discuss polarizing and political ideas in educational ways without perpetuating fear, othering, and hate.
- Identify training(s) needed to support our campus community in continued learning and productive dialogue concerning the origins of the conflict in the Middle East and current manifestations of Islamophobia, and how to increase culturally responsive and trauma-informed counseling, mentoring, and discourse for students, staff, and faculty.
- Explore and recommend steps to reinvigorate community-building, develop support networks, and close the resource gap in services to SWANA communities.
The Task Force to Address Islamophobia will be sponsored by Dr. Mia Settles-Tidwell, vice president for Inclusive Excellence and University diversity officer, and Dr. Mark Wheeler, chief of staff to the President and professor of philosophy. In the coming weeks, targeted invitations and a call for Task Force members will be offered to our SWANA identifying campus community members and allies. The Task Force work is projected to take place from December 2023 to May 2024.
In partnership,
Dr. Mia Settles-Tidwell,
Vice President for Inclusive Excellence and University Diversity Officer
Dr. Mark Wheeler,
Chief of Staff to the President and Professor of Philosophy