Department Statements

05/8/24

This statement does not reflect the views or opinions of the University of California, San Diego nor the views of every member of the Department of Sociology.

We, the undersigned faculty members of the Department of Sociology at UCSD, stand united with our colleagues across other departments and programs in expressing our  condemnation of the unnecessary and perilous deployment of police forces to forcibly terminate a peaceful protest against the war in Gaza on May 6, 2024. We are outraged that the administration led by Chancellor Pradeep Khosla chose to suppress a peaceful expression of political dissent by our students.

Freedom of speech is paramount. As a public institution, the administration has repeatedly stressed the importance of upholding academic freedom and constitutionally-protected freedom of expression. Yet, the arrest of our protesting students, who are now facing possible suspensions and even criminal charges, makes a mockery of these declarations.

We believe in dialogue and abhor violence. We strongly condemn the deployment of militarized police to zip tie and manhandle unarmed student protestors on our campus. We firmly reject characterizations of unarmed student protestors as a threat. The administration has repeatedly professed that our strength lies in our ability to engage in respectful dialogue and to listen to one another with empathy. Yet what happened on May 6 stood in stark contrast to these principles.

The trust within our community has been shattered. Many of our students now feel fearful on campus, a feeling especially pronounced among our students of color, who understand all too well the traumatic consequences that can arise when police are used as a tool of social control. For many, our campus is not only a place to attend classes but also their home where they live. The administration's actions have severely compromised these students' ability to learn and feel secure in their own living spaces.

We demand the following:

1. The administration must provide amnesty to all students involved in the encampment protest. No student should be subjected to expulsion or suspension, and any recent suspensions should be immediately reversed. We further demand that all adverse consequences, such as the loss of housing privileges and UC SHIP, be rescinded for the affected students.
2. Given that the encampment was peaceful, the administration should have maintained ongoing dialogue with the protesting students. We urge the administration to recognize the damage inflicted by their actions and to initiate dialogue and reconciliation efforts with the students impacted.
3. The University must disclose its investment portfolios and strategies, clarify its ethical investment guidelines, and openly discuss divestment options as suggested by the students.

We stand in full solidarity with our students during this critical time.

A majority of the Sociology faculty endorsed this statement.

We stand in solidarity with our Asian and Asian American students, staff, and faculty, and with all who have experienced racism and other forms of injustice. 

Attacks on Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander communities linked to the Covid-19 pandemic have recently increased dramatically. Sadly, the scapegoating of Asian Americans has a long history. It harkens back to dark moments of legally enforced discrimination against Asians in this country. Harassment and discrimination happened often in moments of geopolitical tension, moral panic, and economic woes. We saw historical examples of that –the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the Immigration Act of 1924, and the Japanese internment camps during World War II.

Blaming the pandemic on the group confirms the “perpetual foreigner” stereotype some still hold towards Asian Americans. As sociological studies have pointed out, many Asian Americans have been asked the question: “Where are you originally from?” Even the seemingly positive label of “model minority” is a marked category that backhandedly distinguishes the group from the rest of the citizenry. 

Diversity and inclusion is not an empty slogan. We encourage our Asian American and Asian students to speak out about their experiences. We need all members of our community—faculty, staff, graduate and undergraduate students—to stand up against racist and xenophobic attacks. We as a community will continue to promote critical dialogues about how ethnic and racial boundaries are created to separate groups into “them” and “us.”  

This statement does not reflect the views or opinions of University of California, San Diego.

The members of the Department of Sociology stand in solidarity with our Black students, faculty, staff, and all others who are hurting, grieving, and outraged by the tragic murders of George Floyd and so many others at the hands of racism and organized brutality.  As sociologists, we know that these heinous, anti-Black crimes are not anomalous, but endemic to a racist system that affects the daily experiences and opportunities of Black Americans and other communities of color through physical, economic, structural, and psychological forms of violence.These recent acts of racial violence and the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on communities of color are acute reminders that equality is a racialized privilege available to the very few. We stand in solidarity with all who seek to make fundamental and lasting change to our shared, collective future.

This is an extraordinarily difficult time. We were already living through a pandemic when searing racial violence convulsed the nation. The wishes that many of us had in earlier days of this pandemic for everything to return to "normal" have been replaced by the realization -- and not for the first time -- that even that "normal" reality is terrible for so many. It's no wonder that people are choosing to risk their safety, both in the face of this virus and with the threat of physical violence, to take a stand against that "normal." 

In advocating and building a common, anti-racist future, we must forever bear in mind that racism is not unavoidable but is animated by the countless actions, expectations, and decisions we take in our everyday lives. In times like these, every single one of us must actively oppose forms of racism that often dominate the lives of too many.  Here, we invite our colleagues, friends, and allies to think of specific and concrete ways in which they can contribute. 

1. We encourage faculty, graduate students, and staff to consider the effects of the current environment on the mental, emotional, and physical health of students, particularly those that are more likely to be directly exposed to racial violence. As we head into finals week, we will take into account the immense trauma that our students are experiencing. We believe it is particularly important to rethink how we deal with changes to the evaluations and assessments, bearing in mind that apparently color-blind policies (for example, extensions and interruptions) can and will have racialized consequences. In offering support, we urgently ask our colleagues to err on the side of compassion and generosity.
2. We invite faculty, graduate students, and staff to actively vocalize support for Black Lives Matter and other anti-racist movements in the classroom and in their communications with students. This involves being proactive and recognizing that the social agendas of these movements involve a critical defense of people whom the system has failed. Now more than ever, students need to be exposed to principled, informed views on the depth of systemic racism in contemporary societies. Skirting around discussions of racism does not help. On the contrary, as a phenomenon that cuts across most aspects of social life, there are ample opportunities to discuss these topics with our students in ways that are consistent with both our educational objectives and our social goals. When possible, we also invite colleagues, allies and friends to support financially and logistically the efforts of anti-racist movements.
3. We recognize the importance of valuing the difficulties faced by everyone in these troubling times, but we urge faculty, staff, and students to avoid generalizing arguments and policies in ways that amount to “all-lives-matter-isms” that avoid concrete solutions and interventions. We should be solidary, but remember that particular communities are routinely exposed to overwhelming levels of injustice, exploitation, and violence and that these individuals are likely to suffer disproportionately from the current crisis. 
4. We encourage our friends, colleagues, and allies to see this moment for what it is. The mass uprising in the streets has given us a rare historical moment. We sense that we stand on the hinges of history. A post-segregationist racial order is closing. Brave activists in the streets have given us the gift of re-examination and pose the questions: “What should racial democracy in America look like and how can we get there?” As professional sociologists who value public sociology, the moment is ripe to ask a series of additional questions:  How may we re-think the relationship between sociology and the social change that activists are demanding? How should we reconsider our role as individual sociologists? How should we proceed from this point forward?

This statement does not reflect the views or opinions of the University of California, San Diego