Post-Election: a statement from the Sociology Department

November 17, 2016

By The Faculty and Staff of the Sociology Department 

Dear Sociology Community,

For many of us this presidential election campaign cycle and result is a source of pain, anger, shock, disappointment, frustration, and disbelief. Moreover, many in our community are concerned about the immediate and long term impacts of the election for members of our community. The Sociology department joins President Napolitano, Chancellor Blumenthal and members of the UCSC community in affirming in the clearest and strongest terms that Sociology@UCSC is committed to promoting and protecting an environment that values and supports every person in an atmosphere of civility, honesty, cooperation, professionalism and fairness. We are committed to the principles of cultivating an open, diverse, purposeful, caring, and just community.

As a department we invite and encourage sociology students to gather and discuss, reflect and support each other both inside the classroom and out. It is more important than ever to use the critical skills of our field to understand the conditions that led to this election, to identify strategies with which to address our concerns, and to develop critical frameworks, concepts, and approaches to guide our teaching, learning and acting in the face of the major societal events of our time. While the pessimism of the moment invites intellectual disbelief perhaps even despair, the optimism of the will suggests that different futures are indeed possible!

We encourage you to seek out resources and events for support during this time, and ask that as a community we share these resources with one another. If you know of an event or resource that is not already listed, please add it to this open google document.

If you witnessed or have been a target of a hate or bias motivated incident on campus or while participating in a University sponsored activity, please report the incident to the campus Hate/Bias Response Team.

Sociology@UCSC aims to support its community in its entirety. If the department can create a more inclusive, equitable, and just atmosphere, please let us know.

-Sociology@UCSC