Dear VVC Community,
In the midst of a world-wide pandemic, humankind has been rocked to its core by the brutal murder of George Floyd, and many other African Americans before him. Mr. Floyd’s death demonstrated the deep-seated, long-standing divisions in society, and I feel safe in writing that we have all been witness to racial disparities in the treatment of our black communities.
As your Superintendent/President, I feel compelled to condemn injustice and discrimination and believe it is critical that we stand together in our commitment as a college community to actively promote equality and diversity. It is our responsibility to provide a welcoming, caring and inclusive environment to our students, and it is our responsibility to cultivate a workplace that is truly inclusive to all.
The California Community College Chancellor’s Office hosted a “Call to Action” webinar that laid out six key areas where we can take action against the structural racism and inequality that exists in our communities. I want Victor Valley College to be crystal clear in its commitment of the implementation of these six areas of action.
Also, the Office of Student Equity is holding a Student Equity Forum this Thursday, June 11th at 12 p.m. This will be the first of many forums of this kind to allow a safe place for our VVC community and its students to share dialogue on how we can be a part of the change that is so desperately needed in our society. I hope you will take the time to join us for this important webinar. You can register for this at the link below:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Ew6D_HX1SZqdC1wQ3QhrZg
How can you, as an individual, take concrete action now?
• Speak up when you experience or witness intolerance, mistreatment or bias in action.
• Create an inclusive environment, seeking different perspectives from your own.
• Participate in open dialog opportunities to process your feelings and to better understand the feelings of others.
• And finally, you may have seen the national moment of silence for George Floyd that took place on June 4th. I encourage each of you to spend 8 minutes and 46 seconds in reflection and in honor of a human being that was senselessly murdered.
Please join us in solidarity against mistreatment of any of our humankind. We deserve a better world where all people regardless of our differences are treated equally and fairly.
Dan Walden
VVC Superintendent/President