November 18, 2015

Message from the Committee on Diversity and Inclusion regarding the Yik Yak Posts

Hate speech like that posted on Yik Yak yesterday has no place on our campus, nor in the larger world. In fact, the posts violate the core values of the L&C community and, more specifically, violate the Discrimination, Harassment, and Hate or Bias-Motivated Conduct Policy.

Dear Lewis & Clark Community,

Hate speech like that posted on Yik Yak yesterday has no place on our campus, nor in the larger world. In fact, the posts violate the core values of the L&C community and, more specifically, violate the Discrimination, Harassment, and Hate or Bias-Motivated Conduct Policy.

Please know that we care about and support all of our community members.  We are sending a special message of care and support to our black community members because they were the ones targeted in the recent Yik Yak posts.

We firmly believe that we are in this together and can help and support each other during difficult times. The members of the institution-wide Committee on Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) are open to conversations about these Yik Yak posts or any other incidents that make members of our community feel unsafe and/or unwelcome.

We know that there are fora and other events planned as immediate responses to the Yik Yak incident. However, the CDI’s job is to work on long term solutions to the underlying issues that the Yik Yak posts raise. To that end, in addition to the work that the CDI has done and will continue to do, as outlined in the November 16 letter from President Glassner and me, the CDI is planning an open forum in January for all three campuses to share updates on the CDI’s work to date, our plans going forward, and to solicit community input.

If anyone wants additional information about the Yik Yak incidents or about the CDI, please contact one of the members below.

In solidarity,

Janet Steverson, Chair of the Committee on Diversity and Inclusion

Members of the Committee on Diversity and Inclusion are as follows:

Jane Atkinson, vice president and provost, ex-officio

Nathan Baptiste, director of Inclusion and Multicultural Engagement, CAS

Janet Bixby, associate dean, graduate school

Cathy Busha, associate dean of student engagement, CAS

Michael Coiner, administrative specialist, CAS

Isaac Dixon, associate vice president and director of human resources

Mark Duntley, dean of the chapel

Se-ah-dom Edmo, coordinator of the Indigenous Ways of Knowing Program

David Ellis, vice president, secretary and general counsel, ex-officio

Linda Eguiluz-Gonzalez, student, graduate school

Erik Fast, director of corporate foundation relations

Mark Figueroa, associate provost for institutional research and planning, CAS

Marisol Garcia, assistant professor of counseling psychology, graduate school

Anna Gonzalez, dean of students, CAS

JB Kim, assistant dean for diversity and academic resources, law school

Stacey Kim, director of marketing and communications

Gabriela Rodriguez, student, CAS

Laura Shier, Director of Academic English Studies/Instructor, CAS

Liz Stanhope, associate professor of mathematical sciences, CAS

Yueping Zhang, associate professor of psychology, CAS