Jan. 28, 2025
Dear Students and Colleagues,
Along with so many of you, I am painfully aware of the fears and uncertainties currently experienced by members of our University鈥檚 undocumented, immigrant, international, and LGBTQ+ communities. I am aware, too, that many whose citizenship and sense of personal identity and safety are secure are also having a difficult time, given the family members, friends, classmates, and colleagues whose confidence in safety and sense of belongingness have been profoundly disrupted.
Community matters. Our community and every one of its members matter. I write today to those who feel, viscerally, a disruption of belonging within our community. I want you to know that you and yours matter, that you are part of the 91视频 community, and that you have people around you who are concerned for you. Please know that work is underway on our campus and across Ventura County to do everything we can to ensure that 91视频 remains a safe and inclusive place for all.
- Per , University police officers will not contact, detain, question or arrest an individual solely on the basis of suspected undocumented immigration status or to discover the immigration status of any individual, and University Police (UPD) will not undertake joint efforts with federal immigration enforcement authorities to investigate, detain or arrest individuals for violation of federal immigration law. This CSU Systemwide Police Policy is consistent with the California Values Act (SB 54) and similarly followed by .
- 91视频 has designated Chief Drake Massey to verify immigration enforcement documents which seek access to nonpublic areas of the university or to confidential student or employee records. If you are approached by an immigration enforcement official, respectfully advise that you are not authorized to assist and that they must contact the Chief of Police. Then, immediately contact our AVP for Human Resources (staff and administrators), AVP for Faculty Affairs, Success & Equity (faculty), or Dean of Students (students) to inform them that you spoke with an immigration enforcement official and directed them to Chief Massey.
- It is important for all members of our campus community to know that 鈥.鈥 We can and should be helping every member of our campus community to understand these rights, which the designed for printing in multiple languages on wallet-sized cards.
- All presidents of Ventura County鈥檚 institutions of higher education have met with the intention of coordinating our efforts county-wide in response to concerns experienced within our County鈥檚 undocumented, immigrant, and LGBTQ+ communities. This is a work in progress, but we know that communication and collaboration across institutions of higher education will be key to ensuring a coordinated response.
- Our Committee for Undocumented Students, in place since Spring 2021, has been studying current information from and pertinent to undocumented and immigrant communities. Contact Kaia Tollefson, Chief of Staff, to schedule time with your team. Plans are underway to expand the focus of this Committee to include concerns from and for our LGBTQ+ community members.
- UndocuAlly Trainings held at 91视频 in years past are out of date. Another CSU campus has generously invited members of our campus community to participate in their virtual sessions: 2/21/2025 at 10-11am and 4/16/2025 at 3-4pm. Email Kaia Tollefson to sign up.
- Any student in need of support or with questions about campus policy should contact the Dean of Students.
I have a habit of reflecting upon the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., especially during the month of the holiday that celebrates his life and which challenges each of us to reflect upon our own dreams for the future of our country and world. Having now marked the 39th annual celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I find his quote on community particularly relevant. Delivered as part of a for Oberlin College in 1965, he said, 鈥淎ll life is interrelated, and we are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.鈥
This idea resonates deeply with me. How we care for ourselves and each other reverberates through the fabric of our community. May you and all your loved ones be safe and well.
Sincerely,
Richard Yao, PhD
President