Confront Extremism
Below you'll find our post category archive. Note that many titles will have , , and at the end of the text. These help identify pages, posts, and events representing our three core values: Community, Thriving, and Wellness. To learn more about this, read about our Action Plan. These also all help support our #ActForInclusion.
To Be Black and Safe – Reflections on the Buffalo Mass Shooting ♥
Dear campus community, May 14 began like any other Saturday afternoon for customers at Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, New York. The day ended quite differently, however. Gun shots shattered their routine activity. Ten of the 13 victims were killed-all Black. Local police have arrested the gunman, who was unharmed. There is no mystery why the perpetrator, a white male teenager, targeted this store in a predominantly Black neighborhood. The shooter described his motivation in a manifesto and live streamed his attack. Drawing on replacement theory, he regarded the very existence of Black people and immigrants as posing an existential…
Honoring Jewish Heritage in May 2022 ♥
Dear campus community, I invite you to celebrate and learn about the Jewish culture during May 2022. First established as Jewish American Week in 1980, and later officially named in the United States by President George W. Bush as Jewish Heritage Month in 2006, this time allows us all to learn about the valuable contributions and current issues affecting Jewish people across the globe. Findings from a 2020 Orange County Hate Crime report that there was a disturbing 114% rise in anti-Semitic hate incidents and that 11% of hate crimes were motivated by anti-Semitism further underscores our need to come…
The Rittenhouse Trial Verdict in Wisconsin Today ♥
Dear campus community, The trial of Kyle Rittenhouse versus the State of Wisconsin concluded earlier today. The jury returned not guilty on all five counts of the original indictment (a sixth count was previously dismissed by the judge), including the murder of two people and the wounding of a third on August 25 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The relief of the Rittenhouse family in this verdict was met by the heavy burden of the families mourning the absence of loved ones and the continuing trauma of the lone survivor. The conclusion of this trial does not end the reckoning about systemic…
DACA Ruling in Texas – We Are Inextricably Bound Together as Members of the UCI Community ♥ ✚
Dear campus community, Last Friday, a federal judge in Texas ruled that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is unlawful, halting the program’s ability to accept new applicants. While this is very concerning, please understand that many actions are in motion to preserve DACA. The Biden Administration will file an appeal, which could lead to further review by the United States Supreme Court, and the Department of Homeland Security will explore an administrative rule-making avenue. If allowed to stand, this ruling will drastically impact the futures of nearly one million undocumented people, their families and their communities. Since…
Resurgence of Anti-Semitism ♥
Dear campus community, Last month the country witnessed a resurgence of attacks on Jewish Americans. Assailants in the Beverly Grove neighborhood of Los Angeles set upon two diners. In the Fairfax district, a driver chased an Orthodox Jewish man before he found refuge in a synagogue. In New York’s Times Square, a mob attacked an individual wearing a yarmulke. These attacks are being investigated as possible hate crimes. Distressingly the number of anti-Semitic crimes and incidents has continued to increase over the past several years. They involve the defacing of synagogues and yeshivas, physical assaults and intimidation, and online trolling….
Combatting Online Extremism: Join us for a free 5-session online training ♥
Combatting Online Extremism: Join us for a free 5-session online training Join Orange County Human Relations (OCHR) and the University of California, Irvine (UCI) for a five-part, free online training that will offer tools and resources for how to combat online extremism. Using modules developed as part of UC Irvine’s Confronting Digital Extremism initiative, UCI is partnering with OCHR to provide an interactive training for the community. With the increase in violence against Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic, this course offers a special session on the racialization of COVID-19. Those who complete all 5 sessions will…
A Message from the Law School | Community Statement on Chauvin Verdict ♥
Community Statement on Chauvin Verdict 04-20-2021 Dear Law School Community, Over the last few weeks, we have endured the trial of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, even as we have confronted new instances of police violence against Black and brown people in the U.S. Many of the bystanders who witnessed the murder of George Floyd by Officer Chauvin were forced to relive those 9 minutes and 29 seconds during the trial. Darnella Frazier was forced to relive those horrific moments that she captured on video, which altered the trajectory of this case and prevented it from being submerged in an…
Statement on the April 15 FedEx Facility Shooting in Indianapolis, Indiana ♥
Dear campus community, As members of the UCI campus community, we grieve the loss of life in recent mass shootings. All are tragic. In this statement we call attention to the shooting that took place in Indianapolis, Indiana on Thursday, April 15, 2021. The Indiana community lost Matthew R. Alexander (32), Samaria Blackwell (19), Amarjeet Johal (66), Jaswinder Kaur (64), Jaswinder Singh (68), Amarjit Sekhon (48), Karli Smith (19), and John Weisert (74). A 19-year-old, Brandon Scott Hole, entered an Indianapolis FedEx facility where he was previously employed, and opened fire, taking the lives of those mentioned above and injuring…