Statement of Support

The faculty and students at the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies stand united with the students of SOAR. Native faculty, staff and students on campus are especially affected by the comments made by President Robbins. These comments and the pervasive climate of macroagressive violence they sustain speak to the historical presence of the ongoing racism and colonization that affect every one of us but in particular affect Native students, all students of color, as well our queer and trans students and colleagues. As a department we are concerned with how power and systemic violence work—particularly when rendered invisible.

We support the students’ of SOAR and all students' right to be and feel safe on campus, a campus that we all envision will stand up against racism. Furthermore, we insist that the University be an exemplar in this regard by among other things taking seriously the demands being made by SOAR. We ask UArizona to be more vigilant about addressing systemic racism and violence in our campus community and make more concerted and concrete efforts against racism and acts of racist violence of any kind. We view this moment as an opportunity for the University to make meaningful changes to ensure that our campus is welcoming and supportive of all students, staff, faculty, and communities that we serve as a land-grant university.

http://www.wildcat.arizona.edu/article/2019/11/n-robbins-soar
https://www.kgun9.com/news/local-news/native-uarizona-students-call-for-apology-from-president-robbins-after-alleged-insensitive-comments