CrossCheck Live
Roughly a year ago I launched CrossCheck, an online platform I’ve used to change the way we think and talk about equity, diversity and inclusion in the University. My number one goal has been to encourage all of us to “up our game” with respect to our discourse about equity, diversity and inclusion and to insist that we go beyond soundbites, caricatures and slogans. This year I am excited to launch CrossCheck Live. Same CrossCheck commitments—but “live.” This new format will allow us to tap into and dialogue with UCLA’s extraordinary pool of talent, including you.
COVID-19: What’s in a Name?
COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, has introduced a new term to our lexicon: “social distancing.” I confess I dread that term. To me, it sounds like social ostracization, stigmatization, the “othering” of those who are marked as outsiders. If it were up to me, I would’ve picked “social buffering,” “safe distancing,” or even “safe spacing.”
Free Speech 101: UCLA’s Week on Freedom of Speech
The Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and the Office of Student Affairs have organized three events during the week of October 16 that will enable UCLA students, staff, faculty, alumni, community members, and friends of the University to listen to, reflect on, and express diverse perspectives and opinions about free speech and its role in the life of our democracy—and the life of UCLA. We look forward to and welcome your presence and participation.
Charlottesville and Taking a Stand
It’s almost impossible to stop thinking about what we just witnessed in Charlottesville, Virginia, where White nationalists marched in favor of White supremacy. The responses from local city officials, University administrators, state politicians, all the way up to the President were in some sense predictable—both good and bad. And universities beyond Virginia, all around the country, are now wondering about what to say, whether to say it, to whom, and how. Debilitating our analysis is a confused commitment to “neutrality,” which has legal, political, and pedagogical dimensions.
Title IX: Moving Forward Together
On February 28, the University of California released systemwide records of Title IX investigations conducted between January 2013 and April 2016. Although names were generally redacted to protect the identities of complainants and witnesses, the full investigation reports were provided and are circulating online.
