To our Foothill-De Anza and greater California Community College community,

Students at Foothill are demanding a change within the community college program. Racial awareness and equity need to be intentionally taught and exercised in the curriculum and structure of the schools.

On June 15th, the academic senate will discuss campus security protocols, mental health concerns for Black students, the lack of ethnic study courses, and personal experiences from Foothill schools and staff. By signing this petition today, you can put in your vote to propel the reform our community demands to make.

These are our demands:

Educators need to address topics such as systemic racism, social activism, and service leadership in classrooms. We believe these discussions can take place across disciplines and should be addressed not only in classes with a more obvious association to racial inequity, but even in disciplines such as STEM. The students in these courses, who will eventually go into health and STEM careers, need to be prepared to address equity and be anti-racist in their fields. 

The Umoja program’s curriculum emphasizes African American culture, experience, and history- this curriculum should be present in other English, history, literature, and philosophy classes that are not a part of the program. Hearing diverse perspectives is monumental in shaping our views against anti-racism.

History classes should accurately address uncomfortable topics such as the unjust slave history that precedes this country, as well as conversations about movements fighting systemic racism such as Black Lives Matter. Racism can only be effectively countered through education- the mission of Foothill College as an institution. 

Our sister school De Anza has a robust intercultural studies program, with course offerings such as: Race, Ethnicity and Inequality, An Introduction to African American Literature, Asian American Experiences Past to Present, The Chicano/a and Latino/a and the Arts, and Native American History. These courses are not offered at Foothill, thus limiting the perspectives of these backgrounds. Students benefit from seeing their culture and ethnic backgrounds represented in the classroom, and studies suggest that the relevant subject matter encourages students to be more engaged in the coursework. We ask that you have a plan to offer similar courses at Foothill for the future and perhaps eventually create a new Intercultural Studies department, by addressing this in the Equity Plan 2.0.

The aforementioned Equity Plan 2.0 needs to be revised and put in motion- equity is of utmost importance for our institution, especially being in one of the most diverse areas of the country. To truly cater to all students of diverse backgrounds, this Equity Plan needs to be carried out- words need to become actions. 

We also must ensure that the faculty and staff of Foothill are adequately trained and educated in regards to implicit/ unconscious bias, systemic racism, white supremacy, white privilege, and social activism. We are asking that all faculty and staff are educated on these topics in a mandatory training session. The training sessions should be a 2 hour mandated event for two days. There should also be a panelist of students speaking to faculty in regard to their experiences in the classroom and on campus. 

We stand in solidarity with BLM and are determined to see our institution act on the right side of history. The recent events highlighting and amplifying racial inequity and injustice in our nation is a call for the college system to put its hand to rectifying what was never supposed to be overlooked.

In Solidarity,

Foothill College Black Student Union (Moremi Mabogunje, Brielle O'Connor, Vanshika Prabhakar, Sydney Wheeler, Anthea Ohene-Nyako)

Umoja 2019-2020 Student, Jayme Albritton

ASFC 2020-2021 President, Abhiraj Muhar

FHDA 2020-2021 Student Trustee, Priya Vasu