FAQ Category: Equity

Local police and paramedics are called to campus in an emergency situation when either our campus security needs help or when it is beyond their capacity.

If you are unsure of who to reach out to when you have a concern or complaint please fill out our Complaints & Concerns form found here and it will get directed to and addressed by the appropriate individual. 

SFCC’s Department of Human Resources maintains policies regarding equal opportunity of employment, discrimination and harassment. All of these can be found here. For information on similar policies as they relate to students click here. 

For every permanent job position posted there is a search committee convened to review candidates, complete first interviews and recommend candidates for hire. Each committee must have at least one trained diversity representative to ensure the committee maintains socially responsible practices throughout the hiring process. 

This kind of information is called demographics. SFCC uses demographic information to help understand the student population. It is also used to identify where there may be gaps in enrollment or other trends on campus that may need to be addressed. For instance, if there are more students of one gender than another as compared to the local population, then SFCC would look at reasons why that might be to see if there are initiatives that might be helpful in balancing that representation. 

SFCC is a sanctuary campus and the governing board issued a statement to this effect, which can be found here. 

Yes, undocumented students are welcome at SFCC. 

A database on scholarships available to SFCC students can be found here. There are multiple scholarships on the list that are particular to women, American Indians, Hispanic people and more. 

SFCC is committed to teaching Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP). CRP is grounded in three tenets: (a).  “an ability to develop students academically; (b). a willingness to nurture and support cultural competence;  and the ©. development of a sociopolitical consciousness” (Ladson- Billings, G., 2005, p. 483). 

SFCC is committed to reflecting a Culturally Responsive Pedagogy which draws from aspects of students’ cultures in an asset-based approach. This means that course materials are relevant, and increases skill acquisition, engagement, and learning outcomes (Ladson-Billings, 1995). 

To assess student learning and outcomes SFCC employs Culturally Responsive Assessment  which is mindful of the student populations the institution serves. It draws from language that is appropriate for all students when developing learning outcomes, acknowledging students’ differences in the planning phases of an assessment effort, developing and/or using assessment tools that are appropriate for different students, and being intentional in using assessment results to improve learning for all students. It calls for student involvement throughout the entire assessment process including the development of learning outcome statements, assessment tool selection/development process, data collection and interpretation, and use of results (Montenegro,  & Jankowski, 2017, p. 10). It is  “an action-based, urgent need to create contexts and curriculum that responds to the social, political, cultural, and educational needs of students; it is affirmative and seeks to identify and institutionalize practices that affirm [Indigenous]; and,  authentic cultural practices of students” (Khalifa, Gooden, & Davis, 2016, p. 1278).

Chicano/a identity was widely reclaimed in the 1960s and 1970s by Mexican Americans as a means of asserting their own ethnic, political, and cultural identity while rejecting and resisting assimilation into whiteness, systematic racism and stereotypes, colonialism, and the American nation-state.

Latinx or Chicanx demonstrates a gender neutral or non-binary stance with those not included in the gendered uses of Latina/o and Chicana/o.

Hispanics are people from Spain or from Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America.

Latin@ is commonly used amongst Spanish populations, and demarcates a non-gendered person. Latin@ maintains the reference to both “a” and “o” endings in Spanish. This notation , the @,  maintains the masculine and feminine duality that exists in Spanish, thereby constraining the writer to dichotomous conceptions of Spanish.

LGBTQIA+- is an acronyms which  has become more commonplace in regular everyday writing and discourse. While acronyms are never fully inclusive and always expanding, this acronym represents a continuum of people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (trans*+, trans, gender creative/expansive/affirmed),  queer/questioning, intersex, ally/asexual, + and too many others to name.

Black Americans– Society has shifted away from identifying Black people as African Americans because not all Black people  are from Africa. African Americans are Black Americans and some prefer to be called African Americans while others prefer to be called Black Americans.

POC is an acronym for persons of color (all non-white folx). 

BIPOC is an acronym  for Black, Indigenous and people of color (all non-white folx). There are some controversies with using this term among the POC community.

Filipinx  is born out of a movement to create space for and acknowledge genderqueer members of the Filipin* diaspora in the white-centric binary places their parents decide to move to (e.g. the United States). The term is also seen as a way to decolonize colonized identity.

MX is a title used before a person’s surname or full name by those who wish to avoid specifying their gender or by those who prefer not to identify themselves as male or female.

Non-binary Hebrew Project: https://www.nonbinaryhebrew.com  (Links to an external site.)

Indigeneity is a term originally defined and accepted in 1972 by the UN Working Group for Indigenous Peoples, but was considered too restrictive and was later amended to what follows in 1983.

Uppercasing the word Black and lowercasing the word white has taken on more usage in the past few years as a way to both reckon the oppression of Black Folk and amplify the crucial importance of shifting ideologies. Lowercasing of white in the same piece of writing serves to highlight this. If they are done in separate pieces of writing, it lacks recognition and effect. Thus, when put in the same piece of writing, this becomes apparent.

• White privilege refers to the unquestioned and unearned set of advantages, entitlements, benefits and choices bestowed on people solely because they are white. Generally white people who experience such privilege do so without being conscious of it.
  
  Structural White Privilege is a  system of white domination that creates and maintains belief systems that make current racial advantages and disadvantages seem normal. The system includes powerful incentives for maintaining white privilege and its consequences, and powerful negative consequences for trying to interrupt white privilege or reduce its consequences in meaningful ways. The system includes internal and external manifestations at the individual, interpersonal, cultural and institutional levels.  (MPA)

Trans*⁺ is technically synonymous, though etymologically different from, trans, trans*, and transgender. It is the experience of having a gender identity that is different from one’s biological sex, or identify outside of the binary altogether. A trans*⁺ (trans, trans*, and transgender) person may be pre- or post-operative and is not defined by any predetermined gender formula. This term has become an umbrella term for nonconforming gender identity and expression. Trans*⁺, when written with an asterisk and superscript plus sign, de-notes transgender identities that continue to emerge. Trans* with only an asterisk denotes a segment of the transgender population that was inclusive of only some trans people’s identities, while excluding others. (sM)

Structural Racism is the normalization and legitimization of an array of dynamics – historical, cultural, institutional and interpersonal – that routinely advantage whites while producing cumulative and chronic adverse outcomes for people of color. Structural racism encompasses the entire system of white domination, diffused and infused in all aspects of society including its history, culture, politics, economics and entire social fabric. Structural racism is more difficult to locate in a particular institution because it involves the reinforcing effects of multiple institutions and cultural norms, past and present, continually reproducing old and producing new forms of racism. Structural racism is the most profound and pervasive form of racism – all other forms of racism emerge from structural racism. (MPA)

Settler colonialism refers to colonization in which colonizing powers create permanent or long-term settlement on land owned and/or occupied by other peoples, often by force. This contrasts with colonialism where the colonizer’s focus is only on extracting resources back to their countries of origin, for example. Settler Colonialism typically includes oppressive governance, dismantling of Indigenous cultural forms, and enforcement of codes of superiority (such as white supremacy). Examples include white European occupations of land in what is now the United States, Spain’s settlements throughout Latin America, internment of Asians in the United States imposed by hegemonic structures and beliefs, and the Apartheid government established by White Europeans in South Africa. (MPA)

Restorative Justice is a theory of justice that emphasizes repairing the harm caused by crime and conflict. It places decisions in the hands of those who have been most affected by a wrongdoing, and gives equal concern to the victim, the offender, and the surrounding community. Restorative responses are meant to repair harm, heal broken relationships, and address the underlying reasons for the offense. It emphasizes individual and collective accountability. Crime and conflict generate opportunities to build community and increase grassroots power when restorative practices are employed.  (MPA)