A message was shared with the campus community on April 20 from the Provost and the Vice President for Student Affairs.
Dear Campus Community,
Over the past several weeks many of us have followed the trial of former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd, and we now await the jury’s decision. As the deliberations begin, we acknowledge the impact the police killing of George Floyd, the months long national protests over the summer and now the trial may be having on members of the Cal Poly Pomona community.
The many burdens of this past year have been intensified by the trauma of reliving the details of Mr. Floyd’s death, along with continued incidents of fatal police shootings — such as the killing of Daunte Wright, Adam Toledo and all those unknown to us. We know these incidents are not new to our country and continue to disproportionately impact communities of color, particularly the Black and African American community.
During the coming weeks as our school year comes to an end and the nation awaits a verdict, we invite all members of our campus community to please take good care of yourself by engaging in activities that you find helpful and surrounding yourself with people that make you feel safe and supported.
We also want to remind the community that we (students, staff and faculty) all experience this moment differently. We encourage you to show empathy, compassion and grace for those around us. We are asking supervisors to be flexible and for those working directly with students to likewise be flexible and understanding. If you need flexibility with campus-related activities and expectations (assignments, work schedules, grading, responding to email, etc.), please reach out to your instructors, supervisors, students and employees. We invite you to work together to find a solution.
As a university community, we value and foster allyship and solidarity on matters of equity and racial justice, and we will continue to support those affected by these events. Additionally, campus has resources that support our wellbeing. For students, reach out to Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS) at 909-869-3220 for support and assistance, and faculty and staff can call 1-800-367-7474 (CPPLifeMatters) or visit https://www.cpp.edu/~employee-assist/.
Sincerely,
Sylvia A. Alva, Ph.D. Christina M. Gonzales
Provost and Vice President Vice President for Student Affairs
for Academic Affairs