Dear Campus Community,
I write to you today to share some information which I hope will serve as a reminder to our community that there are people around us who carry with them different life experiences and identities, and with whom we have a shared humanity.
Last week, in an unfortunate escalation of events next to a playground on university property, two young Black boys, sons of two of our students, were detained by two of our campus police officers.
UC Berkeley joined the tens of thousands who flooded into downtown San Francisco on Sunday to celebrate LGBTQ pride. Clad in T-shirts that read “Fiat Love” and holding “Go Bears” signs, the campus community — led by the Cal Alumni Association and Gender Equity Resource Center — brought their Cal spirit as they joined some 50,000 marchers and dozens of floats on Market St. In addition to honoring the city’s vibrant LGBTQ history, the celebration also marked the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York City.
This week, Native American college students are considering law as a profession at a five-day admissions workshop on campus called the Pipeline to Law Initiative. It’s the first time the three-year-old program has been offered at Berkeley Law.
The Native American Law Students Association (NALSA) has reinvented itself on campus during the past school year, and the hope is that the initiative, which got underway Wednesday, also will help reintroduce Native American issues at Berkeley Law and across the campus.
At what point in a nearly four-year same-sex relationship does one question their own sexuality? For some, the heavy lifting has been done long before the relationship starts. For others, it’s an ongoing investigation.
I entered my relationship believing the former for myself, but in the last year I’ve rapidly descended into the latter.
Dear campus community,
Every member of the UC Berkeley community is a valuable contributor to the university, regardless of immigration status. We recognize that recent reports of potential raids have many in our community (locally and in other parts of the country) feeling a heightened level of anxiety. We remain steadfast in welcoming, supporting, and building community with our undocumented students and staff.
Dear Berkeley Staff Colleagues:
It's with mixed emotions that we announce the retirement of Dr. Sidalia (Sid) G. Reel, Director of Staff Diversity Initiatives. We are truly grateful to her for making the Division of Equity & Inclusion and the campus a better workplace for all.