Confronting Extremism Messages
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.
Statement on Iran
Dear Campus Community, We want to express our deepest support for students, faculty, and staff – and those in our broader community – who have been affected by events in Iran following the untimely death of Mahsa Amini. In recent weeks many Iranians have been killed and many others detained following protests that unsettled Iran. Our hearts go out to our Iranian and Iranian American communities and all who have been affected. In recent days a group of faculty from across the UC system prepared a statement in support of Iranian students, affirming the students’ right to protest and calling…
Supreme Court’s Consequential Decision ♥
This morning’s Supreme Court decision overruling a precedent of almost 50 years protecting a woman’s right to choose abortion is tremendously consequential for tens, if not hundreds, of millions of people in this country.
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…
Listening and Learning: Follow Up to Rittenhouse Trial Verdict Message
Dear campus community, Last week I shared my reflections on the announcement of the Rittenhouse verdict. Like the national conversation, my message generated a range of reactions and responses. As a university leader and educator, I would be remiss if I did not consider and reflect on this input. Listening is a critical skill that is important to our mission as a great public research university and valued by the many communities that we serve. Here, I want to acknowledge to the UCI community that I am listening. Two criticisms stand out about my message. I appeared to call into question a…
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….
After the Fierce Urgency of Now Passes – Message on George Floyd Commemoration
Dear campus community, Today marks the one-year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd. George Floyd’s death simultaneously elevated attention to systemic anti-Black racism in the United States and spurred UCI to aspire to be the nation’s foremost destination for Black people to thrive as students, faculty, staff and members of our community. UCI’s Black Thriving Initiative has served as a whole university response that relies on each campus member and community partner to contribute to building a culture where Black people thrive. While so much has happened in the past year, so much more remains to be done. Across…
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…