August 6, 2013
TO THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY
Dear Students and Colleagues:
This week, offensive graffiti was discovered written on the window of El Centro de Arnulfo Casillas (Building 406), targeting the undocumented community. We are deeply disturbed by this act of vandalism, particularly in a location that has great historical significance for the development of Chicana and Chicano Studies on our campus, and has long served as an important gathering place for student organizations and a safe space for our students, faculty, and staff.
As we continue to investigate and take immediate action to respond to this incident, we would also like to reaffirm that there is no place at UC Santa Barbara for acts of intolerance directed toward any member of our community. We pledge our university's continuing commitment to raise awareness about intolerance in all its forms; to honor the diversity that enriches our living, learning, and working environment; and to promote our campus tradition of dialogue and mutual respect. We are committed to promoting and defending a learning environment that values and supports each member of our campus community in an atmosphere that is open, civil, fair, caring, respectful, and, most importantly, safe.
Our students, faculty, and staff all play an important role in creating and maintaining a campus climate that values diversity and remains free of prejudice and intolerance. Each of us has a responsibility to uphold the values we cherish as an academic community, and to create a place that is open, inclusive, and welcoming to all.
Sincerely,
Henry T. Yang
Chancellor
Michael D.
Young Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs