Every student of the BSS faculty, regardless of background, deserves to feel welcome, safe, and valued as they pursue their education. Tangibly fostering inclusivity and awareness of the diverse and dynamic needs of students will be a vital part of our efforts this year. In order to progress with this goal, we will need to listen closely to students to identify the unique challenges they face and take meaningful action to minimize these challenges as much as possible to support them on their academic journey.

Identifying Challenges

Through increased participation in the (Diversity and Inclusion initiative of the faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences)  D&I-BSS working group and a commitment to reaching out to minority student associations, such as ACSA, we aim to increase our understanding of a wide range of student perspectives and concerns. By actively seeking out and learning from the lived experiences of students we aim to empower students to shed light on challenges and barriers they experience, as well as areas of potential growth and improvement for the BSS faculty.

Taking Meaningful Action

While our focus on many specific D&I-related goals will shift throughout the year to match the needs of current students, we have also identified a number of foundational goals to work toward in tandem. First, we will engage faculty entities such as the LGBTQIA+ expertise center or the decoloniality reading group for advice and expertise as appropriate to improve our efficacy as representatives and advocates. We will highlight the importance of more accessible and productive general complaint and feedback procedures, as well as a more intuitive and available study provision process for students with disabilities. We will champion accessibility wherever we encounter deficits. We will foster diversity and inclusion within the academic community through the promotion of social and/or educational events pertaining to D&I topics. We will also continue to vocally promote the diversification of the curricula in all BSS programs, and encourage a shift toward more inclusive and socially aware perspectives. Accordingly, PSB hopes to promote more pronounced intrafaculty collaboration and achieve greater accountability on certain faculty-wide issues and thereby reduce virtue signaling.