To our campus community,
We staff members from Diversity and Multicultural Student Services and Student Affairs are angry, heart-broken, grieving and demand meaningful change. We are grieving the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Ahmaud Arbery. We say their names along with Jason Washington, because we know that anti-blackness and anti-black violence does not stop at the boundaries of Portland State University. This is not a moment to be silent. This is a moment instead to make clear our commitment to taking up the work that will support long-term change within Student Services for the safety and success of our students. Moving forward, we will engage in anti-racism work by naming institutionalized racism and anti-blackness at PSU and addressing it head-on. Our central goal is to amplify and advocate for student voices, and we are committed to this in our anti-racism work as well.
Violence like these most recent murders happens because of systemic oppression and unchallenged white supremacy. We acknowledge that we are raising the names of only a few black lives lost to white supremacy-fueled violence and that there are countless others that we have yet to raise up and many community members, including PSU students and staff, who have experienced anti-blackness and racism.
Our first step will be to create an action plan this summer that will be shared at the beginning of Fall Term 2020. We commit to internal education and awareness-building, along with the implementation of practices and accountability steps that will ensure long-term change and follow-through. We also hope you will use the staff and resources listed below to access departments and services that are here for you during these challenging times. As always, we in Student Affairs and Diversity & Multicultural Student Services are committed to supporting students as you navigate your way through higher education and the complexities of your experiences.
In community,
Candace Avalos, Coordinator of Student Government Relations and Greek Life Advisor
Erica Bestpitch, Director, Women’s Resource Center
Phillip Dirks, Director, TRIO Pre-College Programs
Jen Dugger, Director, Disability Resource Center
Walt Ghant, Director, Veterans Resource Center
Cynthia Gomez, Executive Director, Cultural Resource Centers
K Keith, Director, Queer Student Services
Linda Liu, Program Director, TRIO - Student Support Services
Ida Lombardozzi, Director, Services for Students with Children
Katrina Machorro, Interim Case Manager, CARE Team
Perla Pinedo, Interim Assistant Vice President of Diversity & Multicultural Student Services & Director of Multicultural Retention Services
Aimee Shattuck, Assistant Dean of Student Life & Director of Student Activities and Leadership Programs
Richard Slottee, Director, Student Legal Services
Dana Tasson, Executive Director, Center for Student Health and Counseling
Michele Toppe, Vice Provost for Student Affairs
Mike Walsh, Executive Director, University Housing & Residence Life