From: Jennifer Mankoff <jmankoff@cs.washington.edu>
Date: Thu, Oct 10, 2019 at 7:51 PM
Subject: [Vgrads] Diversity in the Allen School
To: <cs-grads@cs.uw.edu>, Cs-Ugrads <cs-ugrads@cs.washington.edu>, <vgrads@cs.washington.edu>
Hi, I’d like to introduce myself. I’m an Allen School faculty member, and Associate Director for Diversity and Inclusion, which means I am part of the School leadership and I am responsible for helping to coordinate the many efforts across the School to address diversity.
I am reaching out to all CSE students/students taking CSE courses to tell you that we welcome your presence in class and would like to orient you to some CSE resources and policies. We strive to make CSE a welcoming and inclusive environment. This means several things — First, you are part of a shared learning environment, and one where we value kindness and respect. We hope you will contribute to that, and also tell us about problems/experiences that are counter to those values. More information about how to contact myself and others working to support diversity and inclusion in the Allen School follows at the end of this message.
What does inclusion mean in the Allen School? You can contribute to and expect:
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An accessible environment. We strive to respect individual differences and support individual needs. If you are a student with disabilities, you should work with the Disability Resources for Students Office to make sure that professors in your classes meet your needs. In addition, you can reach out to AccessComputing for support. AccessComputing is an organization dedicated to the success of high school, college, and graduate students with disabilities.
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An inclusive environment. In addition to a general commitment to creating an inclusive environment, the Allen School has full-time staff whose job includes diversity and access (Chloe Dolese-Mandeville coordinates this work for undergraduates; Elise deGoede Dorough and Les Sessoms coordinates this work for grad students); provides TAs with anti-bias training; and educates instructors about legal requirements such as accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities.
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A safe environment. We are committed to ensuring the safety of all people in the Allen School. If you are feeling unsafe in the Allen School and/or during your time at the UW, we encourage you to reach out to our undergraduate advising team who can support you and connect you with the appropriate resources on campus. In addition, students can contact SafeCampus, the violence prevention and response program on campus. They are available 24 hours a day 7 days a week. SafeCampus will assess the situation, connect the impacted person with a confidential advocate, and engage necessary services. SafeCampus is the first organization to contact if there is risk of self-harm (such as suicidality), or harm to a student (such as sexual assault or misconduct). They understand the sensitivity of these topics and they can be called anonymously. While we hope that none of you experience these difficulties, it is important to acknowledge the real risks students face. For example, the beginning of autumn quarter is a particularly high-risk time for the occurrence of sexual assault and other forms of sexual misconduct, and many students also face mental health challenges which can escalate during high-stress periods. You are not alone, and you do not have to face these things alone.
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A welcoming environment. Our student leadership is committed to strengthening the Allen School community. Our student groups include ACM, ACM-W, CSE Student Advisory Council, and Q++: These student-led organizations provide our students with community, peer guidance, and personal and professional resources while offering leadership opportunities to undergraduates. They also serve as valued sources of input to School leadership on how we can better support students representing diverse backgrounds and experiences.
If you run into any problems related to diversity, we encourage you to reach out through one of several communication options including the advisors, myself, attending a lunch with the director, or submitting an anonymous feedback form. In addition, there are many ongoing initiatives supporting inclusion and we encourage you to take part. For example, you can join the diversity-allies mailing list or join any number of diversity-focused student organizations. Find out more about our diversity work and initiatives on the Allen School diversity webpage.
Sincerely,
Jen Mankoff
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