Read administration’s response to the demands.
SLO Solidarity, an unregistered campus club which came into being earlier this month, has sent a list of 41 demands to Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong’s office.
It asks the administration to release an action plan by the start of Winter 2016. The plan would include steps university leaders to take “to meet (their) demands and make Cal Poly a safe and equitable campus for all students.”
The email sent to Armstrong was also sent to Vice President for Student Affairs Keith Humphrey, retiring Dean of Students Jean DeCosta and University Diversity and Inclusivity Executive Director Annie Holmes, who is no longer at Cal Poly.
SLO Solidarity ended the list by saying, “If these demands cannot be met, we will demand a new administration which will treat underrepresented students with equity and make Cal Poly a place where everyone is equally empowered to obtain a high-quality education.”
Here are some of the main points.
Greek life
SLO Solidarity has called for the formation of a greek life diversity and inclusivity task force that will be made up of students from cultural clubs on campus, staff, faculty, administrators and greek life.
Additionally, it demands a full-time greek life advisor for United Sorority and Fraternity Council who has experience with cultural greek organizations.
Associated Students, Inc. (ASI)
SLO Solidarity demands funds for low-income students to campaign for ASI elections, in addition to spending limits on student campaigns.
It wants more transparent, streamlined communication which can be facilitated by the addition of a Diversity and Inclusivity position in each ASI branch.
Orientation
SLO Solidarity demands diversity and inclusivity programming and education throughout Soar and Week of Welcome. Students should also participate in mandatory online cultural sensitivity training before coming to Cal Poly, it said.
University Housing
First-year residence halls should have a level of gender neutral facilities as well as gender-neutral or co-gender housing options for any student livings on campus in locations other than Poly Canyon Village (PCV) or Cerro Vista.
Academic Affairs and University Advancement
SLO Solidarity demands that the Poly Reps program is reviewed so incoming students are fully aware of the reality of campus climate.
Education and curriculum
As for academics, SLO Solidarity demands that women and genders studies or ethnic studies courses should be required for students in every major.
They also demand an implementation of a queer studies minor and a women’s, gender and queers studies major as well as a first-year seminar focused on topic areas related to gender, race, sexuality and culture.
Admissions, faculty, staff, retention and support
Additionally, the number of Cross Cultural Centers staff should have more than just one representative of each ethnic minority, SLO Solidarity said. According to their demands, “the small staff is stretched too thin to fulfill all the necessary roles.”
It wants at least a three percent increase in minority faculty members every year until faculty demographics is representative of the State of California.
The club demands the position of Executive Director of Diversity and Inclusivity be raised to the Vice President level. They ask for at least one multi-stall all-gender restroom in every building on campus and at least two in buildings with capacities exceeding 500.
Data, transparency and accountability
By expanding the Student Ombuds service, SLO Solidarity wants to encompass bias incident reporting systems specifically targeting instances of racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, Islamophobia, xenophobia, or queerphobia including an online reporting system with ties to the Ombuds office.
In addition, SLO Solidarity wants quarterly updates from the President’s Office and other campus entities highlighting specific actions taken in the last quarter to address their demands.
Read the full document below.
Correction: A previous version of this story stated that Poly Reps diverted a campus tour to avoid a protest, as based on inaccurate information obtained in an interview. It has been removed from the article.