We stand with our AAPI community against bias and violence

March 18, 2021

Dear Friends,

The Cal Poly Pomona community condemns the rising violence, racism and bigotry targeting Asians, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. More than ever, we stand unwaveringly in support of our students, faculty and staff of Asian and Pacific Islander descent and denounce the alarming escalation of incidents of anti-Asian and anti-Pacific Islander bias and violence.

A national report released just yesterday, documented 3,795 hate incidents towards Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders over the past year. Forty-five percent of those incidents took place in California. As we await details of the most recent tragedy in Atlanta, we are again confronted with the tragedies of mass killings. Moreover, the Covid-19 pandemic continues to make clear the underlying and profound fractures in our society around race, nationality, gender and poverty.

As a community bound together by our institutional mission, we must recognize that we are deeply affected by such incidents and are not immune from these ills. The isolation brought on by necessary COVID-19 safety measures threatens to further divide us when we cannot freely engage in the discussions that strengthen our bonds to one another, even on difficult and painful subjects. We know that we need to improve. Our unyielding resolve to live up to our values — the Commitment to Action, Inclusive Campus Survey, Chief Diversity Officer recruitment and more — take on even greater urgency in the context of an overt rising “virus” of hate and estrangement in our country. And I call on each of us to take steps to ensure that all members of the Cal Poly Pomona family can thrive and reach their full potential.

Understandably, members of our campus community may be adversely affected by the past and most recent events. If you need help, I urge you to make use of support resources. Students may 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/.

We must seek hope in the face of tragedy by continuing to comfort, respect and uplift one another.

Sincerely,

Soraya M. Coley, Ph.D.
President