CUCFA Letter to Pres. Napolitano
The Council of UC Faculty Associations (CUCFA) set a letter to UC President Janet Napolitano on November 23 applauding her statements after the US presidential election, and outlining concrete steps UC leadership should take to protect vulnerable students and staff.
In short, we stand united with our administrators against any threats directed at our students and fellow employees, or any words or acts of hate that threaten our mission as a public research university committed to the betterment of our global society through teaching, learning, and the dissemination of new knowledge. We pledge to stand up for, support, and defend the most vulnerable among us, those deliberately targeted in the lead up to the election, and those who are now victims of hate in its wake – members of our community who are undocumented, people of color, LGBTQ people, Muslims (and other religious minorities), immigrants, people with disabilities, and women.
To implement these policy principles, we urge that, in collaboration with the chancellors and other appropriate authorities, you:
- Explore all legal venues to refuse to act on behalf of federal agents, and to withhold information on the immigration status, religion, and national origin of our students, faculty, or staff;
- Not enter into agreements with state or local law enforcement agencies, Homeland Security or any other federal department for the enforcement of federal immigration law;
- Instruct university police not to honor immigration hold requests, and not to contact, detain, question or arrest individuals solely on the basis of being, or suspected of being, a person that lacks documentation;
- Standardize a UC systemwide administrative office with responsibility for counseling DACA students on their educational situation;
- Publicize that DACA student counseling services are available on a strictly confidential basis;
- Continue to allow DACA-eligible students to pay in-state resident tuition;
- Ensure student’s access to health care and financial aid within California law;
- Invest in faculty and staff training for UndocuAlly modules developed by UC Davis;
- Commit to allow undocumented students to work on UC campuses in the event that the DACA provisions were repealed;
- Take these measures before Inauguration Day so that DACA students can be assured of institutional support.
You can read the entire letter here: http://cucfa.org/2016/11/defense-of-vulnerable-categories-of-students/