SACRAMENTO, Calif. – SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Yesterday, April 20, 2021, justice prevailed. Last year, the unjust murder of George Floyd opened up dialogue about the inequities in our system and highlighted the injustice towards our marginalized populations. This provided the California community colleges system with an opportunity for introspection. What the SSCCC found was that policies needed to be changed, curriculum needed to be overhauled, and conversations needed to begin in order to ensure our disproportionately impacted communities were being justly treated.
The guilty verdict yesterday, handed out to the officer, is a simple marker on the road for justice as society moves us closer to more accountability. We can no longer allow for people of color to suffer at the hands of police brutality. This guilty verdict is just a start. If we are to have true racial justice, reform must come from our system. As the nation’s top education provider of the California police workforce, police reform should begin with the California Community Colleges system. We need to be intentional in how we teach police officers to respond with humanity and without violence. However, we must first begin with our own campuses. The SSCCC is serving on a newly formed Chancellor’s Office Campus Police Reform Task Force charged with informing policy, data, and strategy shifts needed to ensure that our campuses and instructional programs are contributing to positive and transparent police reforms.
While the SSCCC has always supported diversity, equity, and inclusion, the murder of George Floyd has prioritized our work in this area. We are at the table in critical conversations with the Chancellor’s Office and system partners to promote the transformation of our system. “With the murder of George Floyd, the social injustices, and even with the recent attacks on our Asian Pacific Islander community, the SSCCC is actively participating in policy discussions to influence change to serve all our students and our communities. The work towards equity will continue to be a priority for the SSCCC.” Stephen Kodur, President.
The California Community Colleges is the largest system of higher education in the nation, composed of 73 districts and 116 colleges serving 2.1 million students per year. The Student Senate for California Community College works to promote and safeguard access for current and future students to California public higher education in accordance with the Master Plan for Higher Education through system participatory governance, legislative and policy advocacy, and regional support and development and is the official voice of California community college students statewide.
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